Editorial: No smoking gun in Benghazi attack report

A new House report on the 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, offers no smoking gun to anyone looking to cast blame for the Obama administration’s response to the tragedy.

The report, released Friday by the bipartisan House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, could be the most authoritative to date, comprising a nearly two-year investigation involving thousands of pages of intelligence assessments, cables, notes and emails.

There’s no question that some overheated Republicans in Congress have gained some political traction from two years of blasting the Obama administration’s response to the attack, but this report won’t fuel any additional momentum.

The Intelligence Committee’s investigation set out to examine whether possible intelligence failures or delays in launching a military counterassault could have contributed to the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others inside a consular building targeted by an armed mob. The committee also sought to determine whether administration officials deliberately misled the public about the attack.

The 36-page report says that “there was no intelligence failure” by the Central Intelligence Agency before the attack. CIA personnel had correctly secured their own building from attack and saved lives by taking extraordinary risks to aid those under attack at a nearby U.S. consular annex.

The report said there is no evidence to support allegations that the administration had ordered the U.S. military to stand down as the attack occurred. Rather, “U.S. personnel made reasonable tactical decisions that night,” it says. The committee, with both Republican and Democratic members, also found that a mixed group of individuals, including some linked to al-Qaeda, participated in the attack.

A “stream of contradictory and conflicting intelligence” emerging after the attacks led to an inaccurate administration narrative about what happened, the report says. The administration didn’t lie, but it did rely on flawed talking points.

There remains yet another ongoing investigation by the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which says it will take the Intelligence Committee’s report into account when issuing its findings at an unspecified date. When it is released, it will mark the seventh report on the attack. It’s not clear whether a panel formed only six months ago can uncover more details than what Friday’s report offers.

Still, House Democrats are smart to continue participating in these committee investigations even while some complain of a GOP witch hunt. Bipartisan balance is essential to ensure credibility and a thorough airing of the facts.

With the 2016 presidential race approaching, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s management of the Benghazi attack is likely to come under renewed, heavy scrutiny. That’s politics. Friday’s report offers minimal fodder for anyone attempting to exploit this tragedy for partisan advantage.

FROM THE REPORT

“Appropriate U.S. personnel made reasonable tactical decisions that night, and the committee found no evidence that there was either a stand down order or a denial of available air support. ... There was no intelligence failure prior to the attacks. ... After the attacks, the early intelligence assessments and the administration’s initial public narrative on the causes and motivations for the attacks were not fully accurate.”

Findings of the House Permanent Select

Committee on Intelligence after a

nearly two-year investigation of the

Benghazi attack on Sept. 11-12, 2012