U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gestures during a press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino, not pictured, at the end of their official meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Rome on Thursday, May 9, 2013. Kerry is in Rome for a two-day visit.WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday he’s determined to answer any questions related to the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, as the House Republican leader pushed for more information from the Obama administration.
One day after a lengthy House hearing on the Sept. 11, 2012, attack, Kerry told reporters as he traveled overseas that anyone culpable of wrongdoing will be dealt with appropriately. But he’s withholding judgment on testimony in Congress suggesting that senior State Department officials were pressured or demoted for objecting to the administration’s initial and since-debunked explanations for the attacks.
After an independent Accountability Review Board found systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies in the State Department, four employees in the Near East Affairs and Diplomatic Security sections resigned or were reassigned.
Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died when insurgents attacked the facility in two night-time assaults several hours apart.
Top administration officials first said the attackers were spontaneous protesters, angry about an anti-Islamic video circulating on the Internet. But they later acknowledged the attackers were well-equipped terrorists acting under plans.