Former CIA Director General David Petraeus told the US Congress behind closed doors Friday that secret intelligence quickly indicated that the September 11 assault on the US consulate in Libya that killed the American ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was a terrorist attack
Petraeus, who made two appearances before Congress added that the CIA was asked to downplay the suspected role of al-Qaeda factions to give US forces a chance to hunt for the groups under suspicion
Giving evidence to the House Intelligence Committee and its Senate counterpart, he said that initially, analysts were unclear whether the militants had infiltrated a demonstration protesting an anti-Islamic video.
He was also briefly questioned over his personal life, but in his testimony, one week after he quit over an affair, Gen Petraeus said he left his post at the CIA only because of his extramarital affair, and not because of the spy agency’s handling of the attack.
His explanation did little to quell critics demanding to know why the Obama administration’s version of the attack – that it sprang spontaneously as an anti-video protest did not match intelligence agencies’ assessments at the time.
Petraeus also said that the CIA’s draft talking points about the Benghazi assault referred to it as a terrorist attack. He said that reference was removed from the final version, although he wasn’t sure who deleted it.
Republicans quickly pounced on that revelation, demanding to know who altered the talking points. With Republican senator Marco Rubio saying that Petraeus’ testimony showed “clearly the security measures were inadequate despite an overwhelming and growing amount of information that showed the area in Benghazi was dangerous.”
However, Democrats insisted Petraeus’ testimony made it clear the change was not done for political reasons before the President’s re-election. “The general was adamant there was no politicization of the process,” said U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
University of Massachusetts Lowell Chancellor Martin Meehan, a former senior member of the House Armed Services Committee compared the Obama administration’s need to keep secrets about the Benghazi attacks to President Jimmy Carter’s decision to keep quiet about the clandestine rescue of six hostages from Iran, told in the recent movie “Argo,” a secret success that Meehan said could have salvaged Carter’s re-election.
“If David Petraeus said some material needed to remain classified and secret, I think we should believe him,” Meehan was reported saying.
