Hillary Clinton faces Benghazi investigation

WASHINTON: The United States will never be able to prevent every terror attack, former secretary of state and White House hopeful Hillary Clinton told a high-profile investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attacks Thursday.
The Democratic presidential frontrunner was making a highly-anticipated public appearance before the House committee probing the attacks that left four Americans dead including ambassador Christopher Stevens.
“Chris Stevens understood that diplomats must operate in many places where our soldiers do not,” Clinton said in opening remarks. “Where there are no other boots on the ground and safety is far from guaranteed.”
“He understood we will never prevent every act of terrorism or achieve perfect security and that we inevitably must accept a level of risk to protect our country and advance our interests,” she told the panel.
“My challenge to you, members of this committee, is the same challenge I put to myself,” she told the committee.
“Let’s be worthy of the trust the American people have bestowed upon us. They expect us to lead, to learn the right lessons, to rise above partisanship and to reach for statesmanship.”
The Benghazi committee has been deeply controversial, and in recent weeks GOP lawmakers including the number two Republican in the House, Kevin McCarthy, suggested that the panel served to help damage Clinton’s standing in the presidential race.
The murky events of Sept. 11, 2012 began when extremists attacked and ransacked a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens is believed to have sought shelter in a safe room in the compound. His lifeless body was located at a local hospital that night, the first killing of a US ambassador since 1979.
Another American died at the compound, while two more died in a subsequent mortar attack.
Congress conducted seven probes into the attack, and Clinton launched an Accountability Review Board to investigate the events.
The board’s report did not fault the State Department for the terror attacks but cited “systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels” that resulted in an inadequate security posture.
Several Democrats rushed to Clinton’s defense Wednesday in anticipation of her testimony.