A new report about the Benghazi attack shows again and again, the failure to invest in security, to pay attention to security, to take security seriously can mean lost lives.
Read the report and give it to your managers next time they ignore security. As seen below, managers who denied enhanced security requests have resigned in the wake of this report.
Panel Assails Role of State Department in Benghazi Attack
(New York Times) An independent inquiry into the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Libya that killed four Americans on Sept. 11 sharply criticized the State Department for a lack of seasoned security personnel and for relying on untested local militias to safeguard the compound, according to a report by the panel made public on Tuesday night.
The investigation into the attack on the diplomatic mission and the C.I.A. annex in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans also faulted State Department officials in Washington for ignoring requests from the American Embassy in Tripoli for more guards for the mission and for failing to make sufficient safety upgrades.
The panel also said American intelligence officials had relied too much on specific warnings of imminent attacks, which they did not have in the case of Benghazi, rather than basing assessments more broadly on a deteriorating security environment.
By this spring, Benghazi, a hotbed of militant activity in eastern Libya, had experienced a string of assassinations, an attack on a British envoy’s motorcade and the explosion of a bomb outside the American Mission.
Finally, the report blamed two major State Department bureaus — Diplomatic Security and Near Eastern Affairs — for failing to coordinate and plan adequate security.
The panel also determined that a number of officials had shown poor leadership, but they were not identified in the unclassified version of the report that was released.
“Systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus,” the report said, resulted in security “that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place.” . . . .
. . . The review principally addressed seven main categories of problems, mostly related to the State Department. These included
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ineffective security provided by the host nation
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staffing shortfalls, including high turnover among American diplomatic security personnel
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faulty fire-safety and security equipment, including surveillance cameras
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poor performance by specific officials . . .
Inquiry harshly criticizes State Department over Benghazi attack
(Reuters) Security at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya was grossly inadequate to deal with a September 11 attack that killed a U.S. ambassador and three others because of failures within the State Department, an official inquiry found on Tuesday.
In a scathing assessment, the review cited “leadership and management” deficiencies at two department offices, poor coordination among officials and “real confusion” in Washington and in the field over who had the responsibility, and the power, to make decisions that involved policy and security concerns. . . .
State Department resignations follow Benghazi report
(CNN) Three State Department officials, including two who oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, resigned in the wake of a review of security failures there, senior State Department officials told CNN Wednesday. . .
. . .Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of diplomatic security, and Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary of state for international programs, submitted their resignations, a senior official said. A third official in the Near East Affairs bureau also resigned, the official said.
Boswell and Lamb oversaw security for the Benghazi mission. Lamb testified before Congress about the security precautions. Documents show Lamb denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya . . .
