Heads Roll at the State Department

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Dec.20, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

           When Amb. Christ Stevens was ambushed by terrorists Sept. 11 at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, few could have imagined the repercussions.  Going overboard, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the bad news that “clearly mistakes were made,” according to an independent State Department probe.  While no one likes to see U.S. diplomatic or service personnel killed by terrorists, there are high risks involved in manning diplomatic missions overseas.  Seeking $1.4 billion in security funds for 2013, the State Department admitted its security budget was compromised.  Whether beefed up security would have prevented the Benghazi attack is anyone’s guess.  U.N. Amb. Susan Rice upended her ambition for Secretary of State reciting predigested talking points blaming Stevens’s death on spontaneous rioting at the scene.

             Firing State Department security employees Eric Boswell, Charlene Lamb and Raymond Maxwell won’t bring back the lives of Stevens, former Navy Seal’s Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods and information specialist Sean Smith.  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took the blame Oct. 16.  “I take full responsibility,” said Hillary, trying desperately to take the heat off President Barack Obama at the end of a long  campaign.  While canceling due to illness her anticipated testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Dec. 16, Hillary would have very little to add to what led to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.  U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) rejected Amb. Susan Rice’s public remarks on Sunday-morning TV talk shows blaming the incident on rioting from an amateur viral-U.S.-made video defaming the Prophet Mohammed.

             McCain and Graham hoped to uncork a Watergate-type scandal associated with Benghazi but so far haven’t succeeded.  While Kerry delivered the bad news from the State Department’s independent report, preventing terrorist attacks isn’t easy.  No one called for an independent audit of the White House under former President George W. Bush the day after Osama bin Laden knocked down the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.  Nor did the State Department or any other government agency call for an audit of the Navy when al-Qaeda boat-bombed the U.S.S. Cole Oct. 12, 2000, killing 17 sailors.  When U.S. embassies in East Africa were struck Aug. 7,1998 by al-Qaeda, Congress didn’t fire State Department employees for dereliction of duty.  Whatever terrorist attack has occurred in recent U.S. history, the government’s knee-jerk reaction didn’t blame State Department employees.

             Whatever political hay the GOP hoped to get out of Benghazi, Congress needs to get real about what’s possible.  Certainly beefing up security wouldn’t hurt, especially if the U.S. maintains missions, consulates and embassies in dangerous places.  “We knew it was a big-time attack.  We flew in two planes from Djibouti, additional assets from Croatia.  We need to find out who knew what when,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), trying to figure out what went wrong.  “Systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels with two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that too place,” read the report from the Accountability Review Board.  All terror attacks that kill U.S. citizens or destroy property face the same dilemma.

             Pointing fingers at State Department employees doesn’t recognize the inherent risks in dangerous parts of the world.  There’s simply no precedent for firing State Department employees every time terrorist attacks take place.  Judging by the scope of  Sept. 11, what’s the government supposed to do, fire all of its employees?  When the Dec. 14 massacre took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., should the local police department, mayor’s office or board of education all get blamed for the attacks?  Whether or not added security could have prevented a determined ballistic killer is anyone’s guess.  Terrorists or ballistic killers strike at unexpected times, leaving civilians or military personnel vulnerable to lethal attacks.  Blaming city or State Department officials does nothing to prevent future attacks, nor does it bring the victims back to life.

               When you get beyond politics, there’s no easy solution to terrorist attacks or ballistic killings that have become all too familiar in recent years.  Punishing State Department employees or school officials for not preventing terror attacks or ballistic killings is a bit like preventing natural disasters:  You just don’t know when they’re going to hit.  “There is inherent risk in the practice of active and effective diplomacy, and our diplomatic personnel will always be exposed to a degree of harm in the line of duty,” said the American Foreign Service Assn., giving some realistic appraisal to the Benghazi attacks.  Overseeing the State Department’s audit, former Adm. Mike Mullien, co-chair of the Review Board, blamed the Benghazi attacks on bureaucratic snafus.  No matter how conscientious the security, terrorists have a way of circumventing security just like garden-variety ballistic killers.     

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.