WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Intelligence Committee, of which U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is a member, issued a declassified report today on the September 11-12, 2012, terrorist attacks against U.S. personnel at the Temporary Mission Facility and CIA Annex in Benghazi, Libya.

The committee found the attacks were preventable, based on extensive intelligence reporting on the terrorist activity in Libya – including prior threats and attacks against Western targets – and given the known security shortfalls at the U.S. Mission.

Senator King released the following statement on the report:

“Since joining the Committee in January 2013, I have participated in numerous hearings and briefings regarding the attacks in Benghazi, and I supported this bipartisan review when the Committee approved the report by a voice vote in December 2013.  

“As the public reviews and considers this report and its ramifications, we continue to remember and honor the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty whose service to our country, particularly in such an unstable part of the world, is a true testament to their character. With the release of this report, it is incumbent upon our government to improve our security procedures, response capabilities, and intelligence in order to better protect the safety of U.S. personnel.

“As the report identifies, the State Department’s Temporary Mission Facility in Benghazi was just that – a temporary facility with a ‘weak and very extended perimeter, an incomplete interior fence, no mantraps and unhardened entry gates and doors.’ The report also confirms that the facility was ‘severely under-resourced’ with respect to weapons, ammunition, and fire-safety equipment. Given these conclusions, I agree with my colleagues that the State Department did not properly prepare or equip the facility for the possibility of attacks like the ones that occurred.

“With respect to the activities of the Intelligence Community prior to and in the aftermath of the attacks, the report finds that no singular ‘tactical warning’ in the intelligence reporting existed to predict the attack on our facilities. With that said, in the months before the attacks, numerous intelligence reports made clear that the security situation in eastern Libya was deteriorating and that U.S. facilities and personnel were consequently at risk. As a result, there is no question that we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our personnel serving overseas have the information and resources necessary to make informed decisions about their security.

“Finally, regarding the controversy surrounding the preparation of unclassified talking points for Congress in the aftermath of the attacks, I have concluded after numerous hearings, briefings, and analysis of the documents that there was no political manipulation of the facts, and I support the report’s bipartisan recommendation that ‘the Intelligence Community should simply tell Congress which facts are unclassified and let Members of Congress provide additional context for the public.’”

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