Lawmakers get first look at Benghazi attack video

(CBS News) WASHINGTON -- A congressional investigation viewed video Thursday that was recorded by security cameras the night of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The first video of the attack was captured by cell phones. But it took about 10 more days for the FBI to get its hands on video taken by security cameras at the consulate. That classified video, shown to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, answers some of the many questions surrounding the attack.

There has been a lot of controversy about whether the Sept. 11 attack -- which killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador -- was planned by terrorists or the result of a mob angered by an internet movie ridiculing Islam.

A U.S. intelligence official said the first video shows no sign the assault arose -- as first thought -- out of a demonstration. But it also indicates the attack, though intentional, was not well planned.

The video makes clear the attackers did not know the layout of the compound. The attack lasted about an hour and ended with the consulate in flames, a scene captured by a surveillance drone overhead.

The surviving Americans retreated to a CIA safe house about a mile away, where they continued to take fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

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Complete coverage: Attack on U.S. consulate

After another hour, the shooting stopped. For four hours, no shots were fired, giving a rescue team flown in from Tripoli time to make its way to the annex.

Ten minutes after the rescuers arrived, a second attack began, this time with mortars. That attack was also captured on video -- both by security cameras and a drone overhead -- and it shows a more organized and deliberate assault than the one on the consulate.

Intercepted cell phone calls and text messages from that night indicate that some of those who attacked the consulate were inspired in part by televised scenes of protesters storming the American embassy in Cairo, enraged over an anti-Muslim video running on the internet. Others seemed to have nothing more in mind than looting.

That first attack created an opportunity for the second attack -- the one on the annex. Whether it was planned that way all along is not clear.

U.S. officials say the four-hour lull in the fighting gave the attackers time to bring in more firepower in the form of mortars. They fired five rounds: the first two missed, while the next three hit.

[stephenlasvegas]

f Obama is not a muslim ,which indeed is irrelavant, then why does he take vactions during ramadan. Ramadan Ramadan in 2013 will start on Tuesday, the 9th of July and will continue for 30 days. the problem is not his religion but his actions in Benghazi. It is about time they had public hearings. The ambassador lost his life over very bad decision of not to get involved by sending troops or an overwhelming force to protect our nation on foreign soil. The embassy is the United States and we let Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty former navy seals and the ambassador down. If this administration can watch the killing of Osama then they also watched the killing of the seals and the ambassador. America shows the world how it is a weak, shameless, spineless nation filled with yes people and will only suffer in the future because of their in actions.

[bobnjersey]

[the problem is not his religion but his actions in Benghazi.]
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**** delusional troll alert ****

[empirebuilder]

David- this article is gobbly ****!!!! EXACTLY what points in this article were quotes or comments from Intel and what comments were yours, inferred, or should be referenced to someone who could be spinning the video.

Transparencyand accuracy isn't your strong suit, either!!!!!

[joesapper]

Four dead while the Flag draped boxes were recieved in a hanger of lies. Is this the new standard Sir ?

[pjr911]

Why blame a video for two weeks? Why tel the UN and the world that a video was the cause of the attack? Why believe anything the President says about Benghazi?

[smirk5]

You know the CIA was doing the same thing, right?

[bobnjersey]

[Why believe anything the President says about Benghazi?]
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why let the facts get in the way when your hatred for others who don't think like you is doing you just fine?

can you read?

"Intercepted cell phone calls and text messages from that night indicate that some of those who attacked the consulate were inspired in part by televised scenes of protesters storming the American embassy in Cairo, enraged over an anti-Muslim video running on the internet. Others seemed to have nothing more in mind than looting."

[Rick_Carter1]

In light of the circumstances, it was up to Ambassador Stevens to take additional precautions for the sake of everyone. There was nothing that I know of which required Ambassador Stevens to meet with this Turkish diplomat at this unprotected consulate location. The Turkish diplomat could have easily traveled to the U.S. Embassy which was protected by U.S. Marines, or Ambassador Stevens could have traveled to some location in Turkey. It was Ambassador Stevens job to make sure that everyone stayed as safe as possible in the conduct of his diplomatic job in Libya. - RC

[joe1022joe]

Ambassador Stevens and his staff repeatedly asked for additional security personnel. His requests were denied by the Obama Administration. Do we need to know anything more?

[TheoGoodwin]

"A U.S. intelligence official said the first video shows no sign the assault arose -- as first thought -- out of a demonstration. But it also indicates the attack, though intentional, was not well planned.

The video makes clear the attackers did not know the layout of the compound. The attack lasted about an hour and ended with the consulate in flames, a scene captured by a surveillance drone overhead."

Please, please, please do not offer interpretation as reporting.

So, you are offering the claim that "the attackers did not know the layout of the compound" as evidence that the attack was not well planned? Preposterous! It was well planned if they showed up in sufficient numbers with weapons. Or do all Libyan groups show up in large numbers with weapons?

Worse than interpretation on foolish evidence is the bizarre claim that the attack was intentional but not well planned. How does that parse? If it is intentional it is planned. When you know that your enemy is a sitting duck then there is no difference between your intention to kill and your plan to kill. You just walk in and shoot. Please do not cling to the absurdity that it was not well planned because the attackers did not have a map of complex.

Rice said there was a demonstration. False.

Rice said that there was no evidence of planning. Evidence of intention is evidence of planning. False.

Rice said she was using the best intelligence evidence available at the time. But conflicting evidence of equally good quality had been available for at least three days before she hit the Sunday shows. False.

[cp1818]

Rice spoke just a few days after the attach while the FBI could put their hands only ten days after the attack. Rice got intelligence from CIA and not from FBI. So Rice could not know when she talk that the attack was an attack. Moreover, intercept of cell phones and texting could not tell whether the second attack was due from the anti Islam video or not.

I bet that the FBI did not give the video to CIA long after they could put their hands on the video.

This is fog of war. Period.

[voxpopulus]

Party at my place tonight. Bring beer.

Does that sound planned?

Intention does not equal planning, no matter how much you try to spin it. I intend to be a millionaire. So far I have not made plans.

Some of us have logic instead of Fox News.

[Paulytical]

Let me be clear, I think Obama is a very bad president. But I don't think Benghazi will affect him at all. Impeachment? Clinton stayed in office, so will Obama. Sadly, it's just another four men dead in another unpopular war, and what could the President do? I strongly disagree with such reasoning, but I believe that will be the outcome.

[nancy_naive]

McCain hasn't seen it... he was too busy complaining about a lack of information on Benghazi to attend the briefing...

[TheoGoodwin]

McCain wants the real deal, testimony under oath by the principles including Petraeus, Panetta, Clinton, Rice, Obama, and some others. The American people deserve no less. McCain was working with senators Ayotte and Graham to bring it about.

[signseeker1717]

Yeah those three senators were "working" political talk shows INSTEAD of attending briefings by the DOD, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[askagain]

Some posters refer to the Republicans cutting money for security from the State Department budget. In reality, agencies decide how to spend their money. Even if the budget was reduced, each agency decides how to spend their money. Sort of like coffee vs. something else an agency might spend its money on. The State Department budget must be huge. Money could be cut from the State Department budget without reducing emmbassy security.

[CowboyJake]

For fiscal 2013, the GOP-controlled House proposed spending $1.934 billion for the State Department's Worldwide Security Protection program — well below the $2.15?billion requested by the Obama administration. House Republicans cut the administration's request for embassy security funding by $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012. (Negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Senate restored about $88 million of the administration's request.) Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Republicans' proposed cuts to her department would be "detrimental to America's national security" — a charge Republicans rejected.

[cp1818]

I disagree that budget for embassies or consulate protection can be used for coffee or vice versa.

It would not happen in the private environment (I am an accountant), let alone in a government environment. Ridiculous statement.

[CBSDebbie]

Libya was/is unstable. CIA may or may not have done their job. Those who attacked I'm sure did plan this and might have hit it lucky with the film. As far as giving aid to the embassy this was not an established embassy and all involved knew full well their mission. The GOP did in fact cut funding for embassy's so they are without some involvement. Rice did what she was told to do. Not much different than when Bush told Powell to go before the UN on Weapons of Mass Destruction. While these 4 men died serving America so did 30 men serving America while in Afganistan. IF this issue is so critical to McCain he should have showed up at the meeting. For his office to say it was a scheduling problem is as bad as saying they attacks were over a movie. Both are BS.

[cp1818]

Rice did not do what she was told to do. Rice said what she said based on what the CIA gave her. The CIA did not get the video if the FBI did not give it to them as soon as the FBI got it which was 10 days after the attack.

Rice talked before the FBI could put their hands on the video to know that the attack was "planned".

Hindsight is always perfect. EVen with hindsight we are not even sure that the second attack was not motivated by the anti Islam video.