Clinton to deliver long-awaited Libya testimony, senator urges 'top-to-bottom review' Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/22/senator-calls-for-top-to-bottom-review-state-department-ahead-clinton-testimony/#ixzz2IkIXx1qD

More than four months after the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in eastern Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver long-awaited testimony on the historic security failure.
The secretary, after missing prior sessions before Congress due to illness, is set to take lawmakers' questions Wednesday before a House and Senate committee. As Clinton prepares to leave the department after a busy four years, the hearing is a chance to address what is arguably the biggest controversy of her tenure.
"There's no question there hasn't been the accountability within the department," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the incoming top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Fox News. "I think this is going to be the beginning, I hope ... of a top-to-bottom review."
Congress has already held multiple hearings to date, with lower-level officials testifying, on the Benghazi attack. The administration has gradually backed off its position that the attack was spontaneous -- an assertion that drew the ire of congressional lawmakers who said it was clearly planned. An official State Department-sanctioned report has resulted in several officials leaving their current posts, after finding "systemic failures" left the Benghazi compound inadequately protected.
The hearing Wednesday, though, is a forum for lawmakers to question Clinton on what she might have known about requests for security at the Benghazi post -- and what she thinks should be done to improve security going forward, as she prepares to leave the department. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has been nominated to replace her.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday "there was no question" that Clinton "considered it her responsibility to learn the lessons from this, and to take the department forward in implementing whatever lessons were learned."
There are also questions about how the Obama administration responded to the crisis during the Sept. 11, 2012 attack. Fox News has learned from senior U.S. defense officials that a FAST team of Marines out of Spain was asked by State Department officials to change out of their Marine uniforms after being asked to leave for Libya to help -- this required them to deplane and delayed them by about 90 minutes, according to Pentagon officials.
Then there is the decision by Clinton and State Department Undersecretary of Management Patrick Kennedy not to mobilize the Counterterrorism Security Group, which is composed of experts on terrorism from across government agencies and makes recommendations to the deputies who assist the president's Cabinet in formulating a response to crises involving terrorism.
Further, there are questions about the perceived delays CIA officials -- stationed in Benghazi -- encountered that night and their frustration that air support was not sent from nearby Sigonella air base. In recent weeks, Fox News has learned that the rescue unit that left Tripoli was told that "fast fliers" -- or air support -- would be above when they landed in Benghazi. They weren't.
Still, the department's review board concluded: "The Board members believe every possible effort was made to rescue and recover Ambassador Chris Stevens and Sean Smith. The interagency response was timely and appropriate, but there simply was not enough time for armed U.S. military assets to have made a difference."
Lawmakers have waited months to ask Clinton direct questions about the Benghazi attack, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed. That attack, though, may just be the starting point for Wednesday's hearings amid mounting questions about the hostage crisis in Algeria and the French-led military campaign in neighboring Mali.
Corker told Fox News "there's going to be a lot of questions about just the overall policies of this administration as it relates to" Al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa.
An Al Qaeda-tied operative has claimed responsibility for the attack at a gas plant in Algeria that left 37 hostages dead, including three Americans.
Corker suggested the developments challenge an administration that was "spiking the ball on Al Qaeda" last year as the U.S. chipped away at the group's leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and took out Usama bin Laden the year before that.
"That's where the core of Al Qaeda (is), but there are all these nodes that are scattered through Africa now that obviously are a threat to Western civilization, and it's as if they've taken their eye off the ball," Corker said.
Clinton was preparing to testify in December, but fell ill and was unable to address Congress.
The State Department has thus far been sparing in its explanation of the separate Algeria attack.
Nuland said last week that Clinton spoke with the Algerian Prime Minister and "talked about the challenge that Algeria has had historically with terrorism."
Clinton later said "it is absolutely essential that we broaden and deepen our counterterrorism cooperation going forward without Algeria and all countries of the region."
She said she made clear to the prime minister that "we stand ready to further enhance the counterterrorism support that we already provide."
Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also had tough words, saying those who try to attack Americans "will have no place to hide."
On the House Foreign Affairs Committee, an aide to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, also said it's likely the Algeria hostage standoff will come up Wednesday.
Clinton plans to testify on the Senate side at 9 a.m. ET Wednesday, and at 2 p.m. on the House side.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/22/senator-calls-for-top-to-bottom-review-state-department-ahead-clinton-testimony/#ixzz2IkIUo2ac

Clinton to Testify About Benghazi Jan. 23

WASHINGTON—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify Jan. 23 before a congressional committee about the September terrorist assault on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, a House committee said Monday.
Mrs. Clinton has agreed to appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss the attack, the panel said. She postponed a previously scheduled appearance Dec. 20 because of health reasons after she suffered a concussion in a fall after becoming dehydrated due to a severe abdominal virus.
The committee chairman, Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.) expressed his appreciation for Mrs. Clinton's appearance.
"My intention is for this hearing to focus on why this attack was not better anticipated, what leadership failures at the State Department existed, and what management deficiencies need to be corrected order to better secure our diplomatic facilities," Mr. Royce said.
A similar Senate hearing is expected, but hasn't been announced.
The Obama administration has endured months of criticism over the Sept. 11, 2012, assault, in which a group of local militants swept through a U.S. diplomatic office and then attacked a nearby CIA compound. The attacks resulted in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans.
The FBI is still investigating the attacks and hasn't said who it believes was behind them. Intelligence reports have named militants affiliated with Ansar al Sharia, a local group, and with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM.
Meanwhile, the State Department has been chastised by Senate committee report and by an independent Accountability Review Board appointed by Mrs. Clinton for deficiencies in diplomatic security.

Clinton Benghazi Questioning Set

Clinton Benghazi Questioning Set

Sarah Parnass (@WordsOfSarah)

Jan 22, 2013, 4:33 PM

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill Wednesday, to give long-awaited testimony about State Department security and the attack that left four Americans dead in Benghazi, Libya.
Clinton, who had to postpone testimony because of health issues, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at 9 a.m. and the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 2 p.m. Wednesday. She will be the only person giving testimony in the hearing called, "Terrorist Attack in Benghazi: The Secretary of State's View."
More than four months have passed since an act of terrorism killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya. Clinton was expected to testify about a report on security failures in Benghazi in December, but first a concussion and then a blood clot near her brain kept the out-going secretary of state away from Capitol Hill.
The report led to the firing of three State Department employees from their posts and one resignation because of "systemic failures and leadership deficiencies at senior levels in securing the compound." The departing staff are still on administrative leave, however, meaning they are still State department employees.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton would first tell representatives at the morning hearing about how the department has begun implementing the report's recommendations.
"As she'll make clear tomorrow, all of the recommendations are currently being implemented, but there will be plenty of implementation work that needs to be carried forward by her successor," Nuland said at the daily briefing today.
Nuland also said Clinton has been reviewing recommendations from the Accountability Review Board, getting status updates on their implementation, and talking to people in the department who were pushing forward on the matter while she was out sick, all of which will be reflected in her prepared statements ahead of taking questions from members of Congress at both testimonies.
Clinton testified briefly before the Senate less than two weeks after the attack, but Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said today that her testimony was full of "unsatisfying responses."
"We weren't getting answers to a lot of our questions," Lee told KSL Radio. "Some of that was understandable at the time because she didn't have all the information, but I'm curious to see what we'll hear from her."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was less understanding than Lee in September, saying Clinton told the Senate "nothing."
"We were told absolutely nothing, all because it's an investigation going on," McCain said on the Senate floor Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.
The hearing Wednesday is expected to focus on where State leadership went wrong and what can be done going forward, according to Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who called it part of "an effort to ensure that nothing like [the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi] happens again."
"It is important to learn all we can about what happened in Benghazi because at the end of the day, it could happen again," Royce said in a statement. "After all, al-Qaeda and associated groups plan to attack over and over again, as we saw most recently in Algeria."
Clinton spoke about efforts to combat terrorism in Algeria, which shares a border with Libya, following a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida last week.
"It is absolutely essential that while we work to resolve this particular terrible situation, we continue to broaden and deepen our counter-terrorism cooperation," Clinton told reporters Friday. "We will not rest until we do as much as we can, alone and in concert with our partners, to restore security to this vital region and to bring those who would terrorize and kill innocent people to justice."
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., will preside over the hearing on the Senate side, in place of out-going SFRC chair Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., whom President Obama has nominated to take over Clinton's position as secretary of State. Kerry's confirmation hearing before the SFRC begins Thursday.
ABC News' Dana Hughes contributed to this report.

Congress Set to Question Hillary Clinton on Security Failures in Benghazi

 

(Image Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill Wednesday, to give long-awaited testimony about State Department security and the attack that left four Americans dead in Benghazi, Libya.
Clinton, who had to postpone testimony because of health issues, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at 9 a.m. and the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 2 p.m. Wednesday. She will be the only person giving testimony in the hearing called, “Terrorist Attack in Benghazi: The Secretary of State’s View.” 
More than four months have passed since an act of terrorism killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya. Clinton was expected to testify about a report on security failures in Benghazi in December, but first a concussion and then a blood clot near her brain kept the out-going secretary of state away from Capitol Hill.
The report led to the firing of three State Department employees from their posts and one resignation because of ”systemic failures and leadership deficiencies at senior levels in securing the compound.” The departing staff are still on administrative leave, however, meaning they are still State department employees.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton would first tell representatives at the morning hearing about how the department has begun implementing the report’s recommendations.
“As she’ll make clear tomorrow, all of the recommendations are currently being implemented, but there will be plenty of implementation work that needs to be carried forward by her successor,” Nuland said at the daily briefing today.
Nuland also said Clinton has been reviewing recommendations from the Accountability Review Board, getting status updates on their implementation, and talking to people in the department who were pushing forward on the matter while she was out sick, all of which will be reflected in her prepared statements ahead of taking questions from members of Congress at both testimonies.
Clinton testified briefly before the Senate less than two weeks after the attack, but Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said today that her testimony was full of “unsatisfying responses.”
“We weren’t getting answers to a lot of our questions,” Lee told KSL Radio. “Some of that was understandable at the time because she didn’t have all the information, but I’m curious to see what we’ll hear from her.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was less understanding than Lee in September, saying Clinton told the Senate “nothing.”
“We were told absolutely nothing, all because it’s an investigation going on,” McCain said on the Senate floor Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.
The hearing Wednesday is expected to focus on where State leadership went wrong and what can be done going forward, according to Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who called it part of “an effort to ensure that nothing like [the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi] happens again.”
“It is important to learn all we can about what happened in Benghazi because at the end of the day, it could happen again,” Royce said in a statement. “After all, al-Qaeda and associated groups plan to attack over and over again, as we saw most recently in Algeria.”
Clinton spoke about efforts to combat terrorism in Algeria, which shares a border with Libya, following a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida last week.
“It is absolutely essential that while we work to resolve this particular terrible situation, we continue to broaden and deepen our counter-terrorism cooperation,” Clinton told reporters Friday. “We will not rest until we do as much as we can, alone and in concert with our partners, to restore security to this vital region and to bring those who would terrorize and kill innocent people to justice.”
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., will preside over the hearing on the Senate side, in place of out-going SFRC chair Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., whom President Obama has nominated to take over Clinton’s position as secretary of State. Kerry’s confirmation hearing before the SFRC begins Thursday.
ABC News’ Dana Hughes contributed to this report.

Hillary Clinton Testifying About Benghazi; But Don't Expect Much

January 22, 2013 02:10 PM EST (Updated: January 22, 2013 03:55 PM EST)

comments: 2

Hillary Clinton will be testifying on 23-Jan-2013 about her knowledge of the horrific Benghazi terror attack on September 11th, which claimed the lives of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, computer expert Sean Smith, and Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

There are still many unanswered questions, despite President Obama's vow to "put forward every bit of information that we have," as reported by Sharyl Attkisson of CBS.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker spoke on Fox's "America's Newsroom," where he told Bill Hemmer the questions that he would like to ask the soon-to-be former Secretary of State. Sen. Corker described the situation in Libya after the attack, as he visited the site personally. He said that he was able to see the "shock" on the Americans faces that were still in Libya at that time, and went on to describe how the people there did not feel "supported" by the federal government. The Senator indicated that the "focus" will be on "internal accountabilities".
It is not enough.
If this author was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the focus would be not only on the sickening bungling of the security situation in Benghazi prior to the attack, it would also focus on why the consulate was not secured after the attack (destroying valuable evidence), questions regarding the "stand down" order that the murdered Navy Seals disobeyed, who specifically said that the terrorist attack was a "spontaneous protest" resulting from an anti-Muslim YouTube video (a lie that persisted for weeks), who, specifically, changed UN Ambassador Susan Rice's talking points to deliberately remove references to al Qaeda and terrorism, and importantly, what happened to the survivors of the Benghazi attack? It was reported that there were 20-30 people flown out of Benghazi. Where are they? What happened to them?
While Corker's appearance is helpful, his statement was not nearly specific enough. After some vague generalities, Hemmer asked pointedly whether there will be a focus on what Clinton knew about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi before the attack and was she "in on the decision-making". Corker confirmed that this will indeed be a pivotal part of the testimony. The Senator also went on to say that "we had people there from the Defense Department that had been assigned...at no charge to the State Department, and they were sent away in mid-August." Corker, a true politician, is clearly more interested in his own career than finding out what happened on September 11th.
Corker noted that the administration was "spiking the ball" on al-Qaeda and clearly the terrorist organization is still very prevalent, as can be attested to in Mali and Algeria, where three American hostages, Victor Lynn Lovelady, Gordon Lee Rowan and Frederick Buttaccio, were just killed. In Algeria, seven Americans survived, but they will not be named by the State Department due to so-called "privacy considerations."
Senator Corker's interview, overall, was extremely disappointing. His focus is clearly on fixing the State Department. While a noble goal, Hillary Clinton's testimony should bring to light questions about specifics of the Benghazi attack. Changes to policy can be discussed later. The Senator, who has just been confirmed as a "ranking member" of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the 113th Congress, said that so far, he believes Clinton has been "forthcoming" and that he expected no "bombshells". Perhaps, given Corker's new prominent role on the committee, he is hesitant to make waves. Based on his interview, he will not be pressing Ms. Clinton for anything other than a lunch date.
Kerry Picker from Breitbart.com reported that Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R- UT) is perplexed by the lack of information about the survivors of the attack. He said:
"My understanding is that we still have some people in the hospital. I'd like to visit with them and wish them nothing but the best but the State Department has seen it unfit for me to know who those people are—or even how many there are."
If all of the members are as bland as Corker, one can anticipate that no tough questions will be asked.
Photo Source: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite via BigStory
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More shootings at the University of Texas!!! The 3rd False Flag???

More shootings at the University of Texas!!!
The 3rd False Flag???
A man fired Monday morning local time several shots near A & M University in Texas. Several people have been taken.
According to CNN, a perpetrator already be arrested. Local police said that a number of people, including several policemen, were shot, types NTB.
- There are several people who were shot, said Rhonda Seaton College Station Police Department told CNN, adding that more officers should be shot.
However, she has no information about their condition.
According to the local TV station KBTX police work in the area to determine if there is more involved. TV channel says that it should have been shot with automatic weapons from a house near the school.
According to another local TV station, KCENTV are a total of six people shot.
According to KBTX, the police have announced a press conference about the shooting shortly.
Three shooting dramas of one month
U.S. in just one month has been hit by two more shooting dramas.
The 20 July was the James Holmes into a theater in Colorado during the premiere of “Batman – The Dark Knight Rises” and started shooting around. Holmes killed a total of 12 people and injured 50
5. August, seven people shot and killed in a Sikh temple in Milwaukee. The offender, Wade Michael Page, was himself killed in the massacre.

Issa Statement on Unclassified ARB Report on Benghazi Attack

December 19, 2012

Clinton must personally address misleading testimony, information withheld from public report 

WASHINGTON – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa issued the following statement on the Accountability Review Board’s (ARB) report on the September 11, 2012, diplomatic compound attack in Benghazi.
“I appreciate the Accountability Review Board’s work reviewing the facts about the September 11th attacks and the security failures that preceded it.  The board’s conclusions follow and confirm the accounts of U.S. security officials based in Libya who testified before the Oversight Committee in October and contradicts senior officials in Washington who testified that the security posture was adequate.  In light of the report, I am concerned that the carefully vetted testimony of senior State Department officials at the October hearing was part of an intentional effort to mislead the American people.
“While I appreciate the board’s hard work, I am deeply concerned that the unclassified report omits important information the public has a right to know.   This includes details about the perpetrators of the attack in Libya as well as the less-than-noble reasons contributing to State Department decisions to deny security resources.  Relevant details that would not harm national security have been withheld and the classified report suffers from an enormous over-classification problem.  I intend to work closely with my colleagues at committees with relevant jurisdiction to address information that has been withheld.  At some point Secretary Clinton will need to personally address the remaining issues.”