GOP senators request State Department communications on Libya killings

By Ramsey Cox - 09/26/12 10:15 AM ET

Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday demanding more details regarding attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the deaths of four Americans.

The letter came after reports that U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, who was killed, kept a diary chronicling his concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi prior to the attacks.

“While we appreciate your participation in the briefing to the U.S. Senate last week, we are extremely concerned about conflicting reports over the events leading up to the attacks,” the letter stated. “Specifically, we are concerned over the apparent lack of security preparations made despite a demonstrable increase in risks to U.S. officials and facilities in Benghazi in the period leading up to the attacks.”

Isakson and Corker requested that the State Department provide the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with all communication on the security situation in Benghazi leading up to the attacks, including any cables sent from Stevens.

“While we appreciate the sensitivities associated with this ongoing investigation, we must insist on more timely information regarding the attacks and the events leading up to the attacks,” Corker and Isakson wrote. “To that end, we request that you transmit to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee all communications between the U.S. Mission to Libya and the State Department relevant to the security situation in Benghazi in the period leading up to the attacks.”

Isakson and Corker serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In the letter, they cited multiple attacks in Benghazi prior to the killings, including RPG and IED attacks.

“Libyan officials claim that that they met with U.S. officials regarding rising threats against Western officials in the days leading up to the attacks, and CNN reports that Ambassador Stevens was increasingly concerned over the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and rising levels of Islamist extremism,” the lawmakers wrote. “Despite these warnings, the State Department sought and received a waiver from the standard security requirements for the consulate.”