Security in Libya

Funny -- it looked great last May... From The Washington Times:

State Department report praised diplomatic security before Benghazi attack
A State Department report earlier this year lauded security at the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, just a few months before it was overrun by heavily armed Islamic extremists in an attack that killed four Americans.

The report, a 2011 review by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, states that while the rebellion against Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi was still raging last year, diplomatic security staff went to Benghazi, the birthplace and center of the revolution, to find secure facilities there for U.S. diplomats.

�Due to existing and emerging threats,� State Department personnel in Benghazi were moved �to [a] more secure location, a large villa compound that significantly enhanced the security of all U.S. personnel� in the city, states the report, which was published in May.

The report (PDF) can be downloaded from the State Department. From page nine of the report:

The DS team made an ongoing evaluation of the temporary location�s security, implemented upgrades, and proceeded to identify an even more secure location. Due to existing and emerging threats, Department personnel were moved by DS to the more secure location, a large villa compound that significantly enhanced the security of all U.S. personnel in Benghazi.

On page ten, there is a photo with this chilling caption:

A DS agent (standing) offers pointers in marksmanship and weapons handling to four of the national transitional council's local guards at Benghazi, Libya. a local guard force was assembled to provide early warning and a first line of defense for the U.S. mission staff traveling in Benghazi.

Page fifteen had this:

DS also protected the U.S. Special Representative to the Libyan Transitional National Council, John Christopher Stevens, during the height of the crisis. That mission required DS special agents to operate for five months in rebel-held Benghazi, in the midst of the civil war, evolving from a small mission of limited duration into an extensive mission focused on critical political reporting and humanitarian assistance.

Our Government let these people down and they paid the ultimate price.