State Department denied security team request for Chris Stevens, U.S. ambassador to Libya

ABC correspondent Jake Tapper during a prime time news conference in the East Room of the White House on July 22, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wanted to update on new details emerging surrounding the attack of the Libyan consulate that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.  In addition to the details I provided in my post, Emails prove denied request in added security, new details were exclusively reported today on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Jake Tapper, Senior White House Correspondent obtained another memo of a denied request for added security.  In the memo, the late ambassador had a 16 man security team through August.  The commander of the team and Ambassador Stevens wanted to stay past August but the request was denied.  As violence increased in the Middle East the team was disbanded.  The security team generally was positioned in Tripoli.  However, the last time the ambassador traveled to Benghazi, the team had planned to accompany him. (Update: State Department today (10/09) emphatically stated there wasn’t protesting outside the consulate. Directly contradicting the administration’s remarks in the days after the attack).

It is unfair to assume the events of the attack would have been prevented had the security detail remained.  However, it not only isn’t fair but it is imperative the Obama administration answer why security wasn’t increased overall and especially on the anniversary of 9/11.

If you’d like to read more about the attack and view/read Tapper’s report you can click on the following link (ABC’s Jake Tapper Report).

What do you think?

Should the ambassador have had more security knowing what we now know about the pre-attack details?

Email: realtalkdebate2012@gmail.com

Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate