Panetta Testifies on Benghazi Attack
By: NBC News
Updated: February 7, 2013
As Republicans continue their long-running effort to find out more about the security failures that led to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began testifying Thursday morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In the Sept. 11 assault on the facility, Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods and Sean Smith, were killed.
Panetta said the Department of Defense and U.S. armed forces "did all that we could do in response to the attacks in Benghazi."
He explained that "unfortunately there were no specific indications of an imminent attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi. Without adequate warning, there was not enough time given the speed of the attack for armed military assets to respond."
He said there were two short-duration attacks that occurred six hours apart. "This was not a prolonged assault which could have been brought to an end by a U.S. military response," Panetta said.
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