Security at Benghazi consulate "weak," former officer says

Security at the US consulate in Benghazi was "weak" in the months leading up to the attack that killed four Americans, including the ambassador, a US military officer who led a security team in Libya earlier this year was to tell Congress on Wednesday, dpa reported.

"The security in Benghazi was a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there," Lietenant Colonel Andrew Wood said in prepared testimony for a House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing.

"The situation remained uncertain and reports from some Libyans indicated it was getting worse. Diplomatic security remained weak," he was to tell the committee. "In April there was only one US diplomatic security agent stationed there. The (regional security officer) struggled to obtain additional personnel there but was never able to attain the numbers he felt comfortable with."

The Barack Obama administration has come under harsh criticism from opposition Republicans for its handling of the incident and for being slow to label it a terrorist attack. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has attempted to use the attack to paint Obama as weak on foreign policy, which voters have viewed as one of the president's strengths.

Lawmakers in the committee last week alleged in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that requests by US diplomats in Libya for more security at the consulate in Benghazi were repeatedly denied by officials in Washington in the weeks leading up to the attack.

The letter outlined a series of threats against US interests and other Western diplomats and non-governmental organizations prior to the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others on September 11.

"It was clearly never, as administration officials once insisted, the result of a popular protest," they wrote in a letter signed by Congressmen Darrell Issa and Jason Chaffetz.

"In addition, multiple US federal government officials have confirmed to the committee that, prior to the attack, the US mission in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi. The mission in Libya, however, was denied these resources by officials in Washington."

The lawmakers have asked the State Department to provide information about whether it was aware of the previous security incidents and what actions it had taken to protect its staff.