Benghazi attack: Hillary Clinton to testify on 23 Jan

Washington: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would testify before a key Congressional committee on 23 January on the terrorist attack in Benghazi that killed the US Ambassador to Libya and two other American nationals last 11 September. “I appreciate Secretary Clinton’s desire and willingness to testify before the Committee as we continue to examine this deadly terrorist attack in an effort to ensure that nothing like it happens again,” Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement last night. [caption id=“attachment_588616” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] Royce said Clinton would appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on 23 January to answer questions about the 11 September, 2012 terrorist attack on US diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. In the attack, terrorists killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. “My intention is for this hearing to focus on why this attack was not better anticipated, what leadership failures at the State Department existed, and what management deficiencies need to be corrected in order to better secure our diplomatic facilities abroad and protect our diplomats serving in them,” he said. “It is important to learn all we can about what happened in Benghazi because at the end of the day, it could happen again. After all, al-Qaeda plans attacks over and over again,” Royce said. Clinton is also scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Normally the testimony should be on the same day, however there was no word from it. “Secretary is doing what she always does. She is going through all the steps that this Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Accountability Review Board,” the State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at her news conference yesterday. Clinton’s testimony before the House and Senate foreign relations committees had to be postponed due to her illness. She fell ill — owing to a severe stomach infection — early December. She was even admitted to a hospital last month and treated for blood clot in her head. PTI