World

RSO in Libya Twice Asked DoS for More Security

BY Mark Miller

Reuters reports that, Eric Nordstrom, the Regional Security Officer of the US Embassy in Libya, sent two cables to State Department headquarters in March and July 2012 requesting Diplomatic Security Agents for Benghazi.  He received no response before the 9/11 attack. According to a memo submitted to a congressional committee, Nordstrom said that State Department official, Charlene […]

Reuters reports that, Eric Nordstrom, the Regional Security Officer of the US Embassy in Libya, sent two cables to State Department headquarters in March and July 2012 requesting Diplomatic Security Agents for Benghazi.  He received no response before the 9/11 attack.

According to a memo submitted to a congressional committee, Nordstrom said that State Department official, Charlene Lamb, wanted to normalize security and keep the number of security personnel in Benghazi “artificially low.”  Lamb believed the Benghazi post did not need Diplomatic Security Special Agents because there was a safe house near by.

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In his justification, Nordstrom cited forty-eight of the incidents  in Benghazi alone and over 200 security incidents in Libya between June 2011 and July 2012.

The identity of the State official who made the final decision about security for Benghazi has not been released.  The State Department has convened its own independent review board.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has stated that there was no warning of the Libya attack and acknowledged  a shift in the intelligence assessment of the Benghazi assault on September 28, calling it a deliberate terrorist attack instead of an event stemming from spontaneous protest.  Clapper says the attackers have not yet been identified.

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