Congressman Fortenberry says more questions need to be answered even after a report on what went wrong in Benghazi, Libya has been released.
The independent report blames lax security and internal problems within the Department of State for the circumstances which led to the death of four Americans, including United States Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens on September 11th of last year.
Fortenberry says the problem goes beyond beefing up security.
“Yes, we need to take away from this how our diplomatic security personnel can be better equipped and the communications from Washington and the types of security arrangements can be put in place in high-risk situations as well as certain types of strike forces that might be readily available to rescue our people,” Fortenberry tells Drive Time Lincoln on Nebraska Radio Network affiliate KLIN.
But, the report fails to explain the incorrect assessment first put out by the Obama Administration that Muslim anger over a video critical of the Prophet Mohammad incited rioters to storm the compound. A riot erupted in Egypt over the video and Fortenberry says it is easy to understand that the administration assumed similar circumstances spawned the violence in Libya.
“It’s understandable how you could perceive the attack on the Egyptian embassy which was due to that video and the flash-mob response might be related to the Benghazi issue,” according to Fortenberry. “It was easy to understand that at first, but the next day when you know it was clearly a coordinated terrorist attack, why this video narrative persisted for weeks and weeks (is difficult to understand).”
Fortenberry, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says Congress needs to further the investigation.
“Two things need to happen. We need to learn the lessons as to how we protect our people better and I think that report helps us. People who were directly responsible for the lax security have been appropriately punished,” Fortenberry says. “But, I think, moving on, why this is so entangle in a bizarre communications web is unclear.”
An unclassified summary of the Accountability Review Board’s report on the Benghazi attacks can be found on the Department of State’s website here.
