WASHINGTON – While much of the focus on Capitol Hill has been on the government shutdown and the pending negotiations over raising the federal debt ceiling, Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, has been working on how to prevent another terrorist attack similar to the September 2012 attack in Benghazi. Roby chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.
In her role as chairwoman, Roby presided over a classified briefing on Thursday with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, who briefed the subcommittee on the events of September 11-12, 2012 in Benghazi.
“We simply were not postured to respond in time,” Roby said in the statement released by her office after the hearing. “I continue to be concerned that more than a year after the attack, our posture has not improved enough to sufficiently mitigate the risks to Americans serving overseas and in harm’s way.”
Roby emphasized her interest in a review of security preparedness that took place prior to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including then-U.S. ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens.
“Of particular interest was General Dempsey’s impression of the Administration’s preparations in the days before September 11, 2012,” Roby’s statement continued. “We were eager to understand what consultations took place between General Dempsey and the National Security Staff prior to the White House’s announcement on September 10th that John Brennan had concluded a review of U.S. Security posture to ‘prevent 9/11 related attacks as well as the steps taken to protect U.S. persons and facilities abroad, as well as force protection.’ General Dempsey confirmed that while he was not personally involved in that review, elements of the Joint Staff were.”
After hearing Dempsey’s explanation of the security preparedness review that took place prior to the attack, Roby issued a stinging indictment of the Obama Administration’s role in leaving American personnel vulnerable.
“His description of the process leads me to conclude that while it may have allowed the White House to issue a comforting press release, it was far from the rigorous examination and preparation the security of the American people deserved,” she said.
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