Panetta and Dempsey to testify Thursday on Benghazi

By Jeremy Herb - 02/04/13 12:11 PM ET

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday about last year’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) had announced the hearing last week, and committee aides confirmed Panetta would be testifying, but the hearing was not finalized by the committee until Monday.

Thursday’s hearing also means that the committee vote on Panetta’s successor, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), could take place this week. Levin said last week that Hagel’s confirmation could happen after the Benghazi hearing if everything lines up correctly.

Panetta’s testimony will satisfy the demands of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who last week had threatened to hold Hagel’s nomination unless Panetta testified on last year’s Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, in which four Americans were killed.

Panetta defended the Pentagon’s actions in the Benghazi attack from critics who have suggested the military should have intervened, saying Sunday there wasn't enough time to move military assets into place.

Panetta said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the intelligence had not suggested an attack was going to occur in Benghazi.

“This is not 9/11,” Panetta said Sunday. “You cannot just simply call and expect within two minutes to have a team in place. It takes time.”