Benghazi Recap: A Timeline in Photos
Helle Dale / Kelsey Lucas /
Benghazi is back in the news in a big way. Here’s a quick update on what happened last week—and how it all started.
Congress said it will finally put together a select committee to investigate this terrorist attack that killed four Americans. This could be a huge step toward unraveling the real story behind the Benghazi attack and the cover-up that has denied Americans the truth.
Also last week, a Freedom of Information Act request by the group Judicial Watch unearthed incriminating emails from Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes regarding the Obama White House’s attempt to construct a misleading narrative about the attack.
Just what happened in Benghazi? It took Americans a long time to find out initially. Here are some of the key events of 2012 leading up to and following the attack.
April 6, 2012: IED thrown over the fence of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
June 6: A large IED destroys part of the security perimeter of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Creates hole “big enough for 40 men to go through.”
A picture taken on September 10, 2013 shows the wreckage of burnt cars outside the main gate of the US consulate in Benghazi. (Photo: ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP/Getty Images)
Late June: The building of the International Red Cross is attacked again and closed down, leaving the U.S. flag as the only international one still flying in Benghazi, an obvious target.
September 8: A local security officer in Benghazi warns American officials about deteriorating security.
September 11: Protesters attack the U.S. Cairo embassy. U.S. Embassy releases statement and tweets sympathizing with Muslim protesters/attackers.
Photo: Xinhua/Amru Salahuddien
Photo: Amru Salahuddien/Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.com
Egyptian protesters tear down the US flag at the US embassy in Cairo (Photo: STR-/AFP/GettyImages)
September 11: U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya is attacked; Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans are killed.
U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. (Photo: Newscom)
Photo: AFP/GettyImages/Newscom
The laundry room at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Photo: MCT/Newscom)
September 12: Secretary Clinton and President Obama issue statements condemning a YouTube video that was blamed for anti-American uprisings and the attacks.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
September 13: Press Secretary Jay Carney condemns the video and violence at a news conference.
Photo: AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN/Newscom
September 16: Libyan President Mohammed Magarief says, “no doubt that this [attack] was preplanned, predetermined.”
Libyan President Mohammed Magarief. (Photo: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)
September 19: CNN reports having found Ambassador Stevens’s diary, which indicates concern about security threats in Benghazi.
September 20: Obama refuses to call attack terrorism, citing insufficient information.
Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom
September 21: Secretary of State Clinton, at meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister, says, “What happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.”
Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar (L) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak to the media on September 21, 2012, shortly before their private bilateral meeting at the Department of State in Washington, DC. (Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
September 25: To the U.N. assembly, Obama blames “A crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world.”
Photo: HRC/ WENN.com
September 26: Published reports show U.S. Intel agencies and the Obama Administration knew within 24 hours that al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists were involved.
Photo credit: Pete Souza/White House Flickr