By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On September 11th, 2012 terrorists attacked the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya killing our ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. In the aftermath of the attack, much of the investigation into that event was assigned to U.S. Representative Martha Roby’s House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. Congresswoman Roby (R) from Montgomery announced that her subcommittee’s interim report was released on Tuesday.
Representative Roby said in a written statement, “Our long-anticipated interim report on the Benghazi attacks from the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations was released on Tuesday. As the former chairman of the subcommittee, I was directly responsible for overseeing the investigation, and I am proud of the work that was done. I went on Fox News to discuss some of the findings from our report with Megyn Kelly.”
Rep. Roby said, “Washington’s lack of preparedness and uninformed notion of the threat level left our commanders in the region in an impossible position. And, because of that, I’m convinced that no heroic effort on the part of our troops could have changed the horrific outcome of the Benghazi attack.”
Rep. Roby continued, “Testimony revealed that, when the White House sent out a press release on September 10, 2012 assuring Americans we were prepared for the anniversary of 9/11, it did so without having consulted the commanders in the North Africa region. To quote the report, “In assessing military posture in anticipation of the September 11 anniversary, White House officials failed to comprehend or ignored the dramatically deteriorating security situation in Libya and the growing threat to U.S. interests in the region. Official public statements seem to have exaggerated the extent and rigor of the security assessment conducted at the time.”
The conservative Alabama Congresswoman said, “Our report complement’s the Senate Intelligence Committee’s recent report that criticized State Department officials for not heeding warnings from our intelligence community leading up to September 11. These lapses are unacceptable. While multiple government agencies and military branches had responsibilities relating to the Benghazi attacks, there is only one Commander-in-Chief. It is his responsibility to ensure cooperation and coordination among military, intelligence and diplomatic officials, particularly in such a dangerous part of the world on a uniquely dangerous day.”
Rep. Roby said there other questions remain about Benghazi related to both the State Department and the White House. Roby said that she is pleased that her colleagues on other committees will continue to pursue the answers.
Rep. Roby said, “We will continue to seek the truth about the attacks that killed four Americans, including our U.S. Ambassador.”
Congresswoman Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. The Republican Congresswoman is seeking a third term in the United States House of Representatives.
