A State Department official told Congress on Wednesday he agreed with the high-level decision to deny machine guns requested by U.S. diplomatic personnel in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the deadly terrorist attack, in testimony that led toward the office of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“Machine guns can be very menacing,” said Gregory Starr, assistant secretary for diplomatic security, in testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
That comment drew a withering response from Rep. Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Republican and chairman of the panel, who asked Mr. Starr if he had watched the video of the fiery 2012 attack that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
“Do you at least see why somebody on the ground would have asked for that equipment?” Mr. Gowdy asked. “They wanted them [machine guns] for the rooftop.”
Mr. Starr said he had seen the video many times, and said “I think the [security] agents made the right decision at that point not to engage.”
The exchange came during the panel’s second hearing, with Mr. Gowdy vowing to produce a comprehensive account of the attack regardless of previous investigations.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/10/gowdy-vows-keep-probing-benghazi-security-lapses/
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