Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Benghazi ARB Report Released; Finds Fault, Calls For More Resources

The Department released the unclassified version of the Benghazi Accountability Review Board report tonight. You can read it here.

Many of the report's recommendations come down to calling on Congress to provide more funding for security personnel and secure facilities. See this key paragraph from the report's introduction:
For many years the State Department has been engaged in a struggle to obtain the resources necessary to carry out its work, with varying degrees of success. This has brought about a deep sense of the importance of husbanding resources to meet the highest priorities, laudable in the extreme in any government department. But it has also had the effect of conditioning a few State Department managers to favor restricting the use of resources as a general orientation. There is no easy way to cut through this Gordian knot, all the more so as budgetary austerity looms large ahead. At the same time, it is imperative for the State Department to be mission-driven, rather than resource-constrained – particularly when being present in increasingly risky areas of the world is integral to U.S. national security. The recommendations in this report attempt to grapple with these issues and err on the side of increased attention to prioritization and to fuller support for people and facilities engaged in working in high risk, high threat areas. The solution requires a more serious and sustained commitment from Congress to support State Department needs, which, in total, constitute a small percentage both of the full national budget and that spent for national security. One overall conclusion in this report is that Congress must do its part to meet this challenge and provide necessary resources to the State Department to address security risks and meet mission imperatives.
The report's harshest criticism of the Department comes in two of its findings, this one:
Systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department (the “Department”) resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place.
... and this one:
The Board found that certain senior State Department officials within two bureaus demonstrated a lack of proactive leadership and management ability in their responses to security concerns posed by Special Mission Benghazi, given the deteriorating threat environment and the lack of reliable host government protection. However, the Board did not find reasonable cause to determine that any individual U.S. government employee breached his or her duty.
There is a lot to absorb. More to come tomorrow.

33 comments:

James said...

I am confused, is this report talking about schools or embassies?

Anonymous said...

How Obama bungled the Syrian revolution
By Jackson Diehl, Published: October 14 (WAPO)
TSB: I think Diehl summarizes well all the puzzling moves of Obama the past 4 years in Syria. (Assad is a reformer, Ford's civil rights excursions to prod Assad, Kofi can handle it, Putin will help,let's vet the opposition etc.
I thought from the beginning that we should support those most affected, namely Turkey..to help as many people leaving Syria as possible. (Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon needed the same.) Instead it looks like we dithered for 4 years and will get to deal with the results next year. Diplomats need a policy that makes sense! gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB: Lessons learned from NBC'S Richard Engel: The guy must be part Irish!He will probably be back in Syria interviewing Assad in a bunker in a couple weeks.

And we have our sacrificial "lambs"
from Benghazi! Hillary skates and Rice is burned toast!

Joe Biden will probably let you keep your Glock as long as you don't leave Virginia but will introduce a new "bullshit test" for purchasing semi-auto rifles.gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB: "Dirty Harry" Reid is trying to figure out how to support "DiFi"
in her quest to eliminate maniac killers. As a well known "western gunslinger" he's a bit conflicted. gwb

http://freedomslighthouse.net/2012/12/18/democratic-senate-majority-leader-harry-reid-in-2010-extolled-the-virtues-of-guns-i-carried-a-gun-every-place-i-went-but-for-me-guns-are-more-than-that-about-self-defense-video-2010/

TSB said...

GWB: I'm sure Reid needed a gun when he was the Nevada Gaming Commissioner. I saw Casino, where he was played by Dick or Tom Smothers (I can't remember which one is which), and Joe Pesci would make me want to carry a gun everywhere, too. True story about Casino; some of the "Senator Clean-Face" dialog was taken directly from a commission hearing that Reid chaired.

Anonymous said...

TSB: I gotta see that one! gwb

Anonymous said...

HEY BIG SPENDER! TSB: I just heard Sen. Kerry say the ARB report calls for $2.3 billion/yr for 10 years to dig deeper moats! MERRY CHRISTMAS! gwb

TSB said...

GWB: If they appropriate 2.3 billion annually for new construction (and that remains to be seen) it will make up for lost purchasing power and currency fluctuations and bring the new embassy program back to the same pace it had ten years ago, which is about 8-to-10 projects a year.

If that continues for the next ten years, we could reasonably expect to have 2 in 3 missions inside secure facilities by then.

I'm hoping to post some thoughts on this tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

TSB: Pepe blasts US FP towards the Syrian civil war:
http://bit.ly/XT9HMS and seems very impressed with Putins Iskanders and the anti-aircraft radar/missile Pechora 2-M. He also describes how US policy leaves Turkey and Jordan's leaders looking forward to a nightmarish 2013 dealing with the al quaeda types and hordes of Kurdish fighters. Also, Wayne La Pierre shamed the US media pretty good today for never mentioning the role of "Kindergarten Killer" videos, movies and tv. Those greedy bastards! gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB: I didn't know John Kerry was Jewish. Doesn't that make 2 Sec States now that discover things late in life? gwb

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/when-kerry-was-kohn-the-jewish-roots-of-john-kerry.premium-1.489209

Anonymous said...

TSB: Prince Charles seems to think Brit doctors actively murdering their patients is giving the Royals a bad name. I have an idea. How bout arresting someone? gwb

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251896/Doctors-learn-care-compassion-Prince-Charles-claims-modern-medicine-putting-human-touch-risk.html

Anonymous said...

TSB: Looks like Obama is "leading from Hawaii" when it comes to Syria. gwb

http://www.debka.com/article/22627/Russian-forces-take-Syrian-chemical-biological-weapons-under-control

TSB said...

Kerry must have known he was of Jewish descent, but he chose to let voters assume he was Irish. (I would have advised him to claim his grandparents left Vienna because of an 1890s potato famine, but that's just me.) He's certainly not the first Jay Gatsby to self-invent himself in American politics.

Madeline Albright has less excuse for not remembering she was Jewish, since her family evidentially was observant when she grew up in pre-war Prague. But she was delighted to discover her roots when a cousin turn up at a press conference and reminisced about old times. Hey, Barry Goldwater was Jewish, too, and like Kerry he was an Episcopalian when he ran for President, so I guess that's a tradition. (Fiddler on the roof voice) TRADITION!

Anonymous said...

That's funny TSB. I looked Kerry up on wiki and it said he revealed his roots in the 2004 campaign. Then I remembered someone had told me that which probably was you. I think one of us is getting forgetful! gwb

TSB said...

It was probably the 2004 campaign that revealed his roots, more than Kerry revealing them for 2004. But I meant that he let the Massachusetts voters assume he was Irish all along since he was first elected back in 1983 (LT Governor under Dukakis). Personally, I think he is more interesting for not being the typical Boston Irish politician, but apparently he wasn't going to take any chances when he did the rounds of Knights of Columbus dinners and volunteer fireman fund-raisers.

Anonymous said...

TSB: Because all my favorite bloggers are exhausted and shut down for the season I scrounged up this great new press freedom idea from Glen Greenwald. I'm looking forward to those 13 million documents next year from wikileaks and maybe they will save a few "over the top" bloggers as well. gwb
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/wikileaks-new-press-freedom-group

James said...

Merry christmas all!

TSB said...

James, GWB,

Merry Christmas to you! I'm taking a seasonal pause before posting something re the Benghazi report recommendations, and I hope you are both enjoying the holidays.

TSB said...

GWB: That Greenwald statement left me puzzled. The National Security Archive that he wants to support in some vague way is an established institution connected to George Washington University. It doesn't appear to me to need any more support. Anyone interested in FOIA requests and USG documents could spend the rest of his life reading the stuff NSA already has on line. It's like WikiLeaks only with historical context and academic legitimacy.

James said...

Quite so! Am heavily involved in elf hunting. This years take is rather small ( never go after Ex-Santa workers, pretty tough and stringy from all the workshop drudgery) and disappointing.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas TSB: That NYT paywall is just a tease. For the third month in a row I just say BOO! to them and after a couple days it goes away. Read away! gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB: Big storm is here! Watch for leaky roofs. gwb

http://www.elliottwave.com/freeupdates/archives/2012/12/24/Recognizing-a-Major-Stock-Market-Top.aspx#axzz2GCGnb6Si

Anonymous said...

TSB: Di-Fi has not even tried to make a case against the Wyden amdmt
to FISA. She is simply standing up for the right of the intelligence community to be totally unaccountable to the Senate. Interesting to see how many speakers (for and against) today have been on the committee for exactly 12 years. Nice Try Wyden-Merkel-Udall! You will be well remembered. gwb

Anonymous said...

http://www.infowars.com/facebook-purges-pro-gun-accounts/

TSB: I know somebody who's gun collection is now probably worth more than his house. And I doubt if they will get his prints. gwb

TSB said...

GWB: That's a lucky guy. Many gun owners have lost their entire collections in tragic boating accidents recently.

Anonymous said...

TSB: That was the most incredible, stupendous and amazing Senate floor debate ever! No amendments to 5 more years of FISA because:1there is no time. 2.there is no need. (even though we have proof that FISA was used to declare all OWS protesters as terrorists and bring massive police force requested by the banks and now they are collecting everyone's total info and it is totally illegal for any Senator to publically say so.) Bloggers get ready to apply for your licenses! gwb

Anonymous said...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-28/bloodbath
As the 4 "fiscal cliff leaders" scurried from separate WH exits yesterday to avoid reporters the S&P futures took a dive. I loved Nancy Pelosi when she discovered her car had gone missing. That gal is straight from central casting! gwb

pic.twitter.com/8QmjREB0

Anonymous said...

TSB: There is only one great book about the Afghanistan War: Jake Tapper: The Outpost It is all about the 2006-2009 battle for Nouristan. What a concept! 20 different tribes and their first question is usually
"are you the russians"? 2nd question usually is "there is a government in Kabul"? followed by Thanks for stopping by and an ambush. gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB: Yesterday the Syrian PM:
"The country was “moving toward a historic moment when it will declare victory over its enemies, with the goal of positioning Syria to build a new world order that promotes national sovereignty and the concept of international law.”
Then: Recip Erdogan
told Syrian refugees that victory over the “tyrant” President Bashar al-Assad was at hand.
Actually, it sounds like a big effort is underway in Turkey to welcome unlimited Syrian refugees and protect them. It looks though like there is still a lot of people to kill in Syria and lots of sides ready to lend a hand. gwb

James said...

Happy New Year TSB!

Anonymous said...

TSB: Since December 6th the US media have shown that they can go on for a very long time not providing us anything but official pronouncements on (for example) Hillary Clinton. Since all of those state releases were lacking any coherence or detail I stopped believing them about 10 days ago. If I were a reporter I would have by now found out if any of her closest aides had gone missing or injured. gwb

Anonymous said...

TSB: Happy New Year! Who'da thunkit? the house black caucus wins the battle at fiscal cliffs! GO Big Spenders!! gwb

TSB said...

James - Happy News Years to you, too. I hope 2013 is off to a good start for you.

GWB - The Hillary Watch seems to be picking up. Today I saw a statement from an attending physician, which I think is the first medical news about her that didn't come from one of her aides.