'60 Minutes' on Benghazi

'60 Minutes' on Benghazi

In Sunday night's episode of "60 Minutes," CBS correspondent Lara Logan reported even more damning information regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, dead. It's now firmly established that al-Qaida was responsible for the well-planned attack and that the Obama administration lied about its being a spontaneous protest about a YouTube video, all in order to preserve its "al-Qaida is decimated" narrative in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election. But Logan did have some interesting revelations.

Logan reported, "Sufian bin Qumu, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee and long-time al-Qaeda operative, was one of the lead planners." Bin Qumu was sent to Gitmo in 2002, but was transferred by the Bush administration in 2007 to Libya, where he was eventually released.

Logan also interviewed a former British soldier and security officer at the installation with the assumed name Morgan Jones. He told of the advance flags and warning signs he saw from the moment he arrived five months before the attack. First, there were the al-Qaida flags flying openly. Then there was the absence of any security forces when he arrived at the U.S. compound. He said, "They were all inside drinking tea, laughing and joking."

Morgan says he spent the next five months warning about lax security to no avail. It's shocking that the warning signs were so clear, and yet nothing was done.  Greg Hicks, Ambassador Stevens' deputy based in Tripoli, spoke with Logan about the horror of learning during the attack that no help was on the way. "For a moment, I just felt lost," Hicks recounted. "I just couldn't believe the answer. And then I made the call to the Annex chief, and I told him, 'Listen, you've gotta tell those guys there may not be any help coming.' ... For the people that go out onto the edge, to represent our country, we believe that if we get in trouble, they're coming to get us. That our back is covered. To hear that it's not, it's a terrible, terrible experience." It's tragic that four Americans needlessly lost their lives, only to have their story lied about for political gain. Worse, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was ultimately responsible for all embassy security, will run for president in 2016 based on her resumé.