Page 122 - Security Professionals News Today

Matters. chris stevens e-mailed regularly with jake sullivan, one of my closest aids in the state department. he could have e e-mail ed to mr sullivan knowing that it would have been immediately responded to on any issue that was of concern to him, and he did not raise issues about security on that day or other days. i think its important to recognize that when an ambassador is at post overseas, especially one as experienced a diplomat as chris stevens, he knows where to pull the levers, where t...

And i think what mike morel told you in the intelligence committee investigation you would hear from anyone in the government at a high level who has to deploy americans around the world. we see that with the defense department. we see breaches of security on our military bases. we know that everybody is struggling to get it right. and as i have said the vast majority of cases our security professionals do. and then unfortunately there are instances where they do not. thats why we have after act...

Instances? how many instances would you have been made aware of that would have made you say, hey, i dont care what anybody else says, were going to protect our people. chris stevens is a good friend of mine. were going to look after him. how many would it have taken? >> well, congressman, of course i made it abundantly clear that we had to do everything we could to protect our people. what i did not and do not believe any secretary should do was to substitute my judgment from thousands of miles...

Entrance. there was an effort to try to make sure that the facility itself was hardened so it could with stand attacks if that came to pass. it was in a series of decisions made by the security professionals in november of 2011, our people in ben goz sgh said they needed to hire additional guards. money was approved that day. they asked money to buy jersey barrier, the funds were sent by the end of the week. in january of 2012 a security officer requested all personnel deploying for more than 30...

I want you to comment, seems to be an implication that the arb, the accountability reviewed board, was not independent. and i think the chairman said they were hand-picked by you. of course that is done by law. but im just, would you comment on those go things, please? >> yes, id be happy to. you know, as i said in my opening statement, i take responsibility for what happened in benghazi. i felt a responsibility for all 70,000 people working at the state department in usaid. i take that very ser...

If you had people and processes in place for security, did you not also have people in processes and place for medicine, gasoline, diesel, milk? >> ive said it before, i will say it again. ill say it as many times as is necessary to respond. chris stephens communicated regularly with the members of my staff. he did not raise security with the members of my staff. i communicated with limb about certain issues. he did not raise security with me. he raised security with the security professionals. ...

Of -- >> cables didnt get through, you created an environment, madam secretary, where the cables couldnt get through. >> that is inaccurate. cables as we have testified and as -- >> they didnt get through to you, they didnt break into your inner circle. that was your testimony earlier. canada have it both ways, you cant say all this information came in to me and i was able to process it. and yet it always, it all stops at the security professionals. >> thats, congressman, not what i was saying, ...

Positively. so, yes, he had regular contact with my aids. he did not raise security with me and the security questions and requests were handled by the security professionals. >> with all due respect, those are two separate issues. who chris stevens had access to is one issue. who had access to you and for what is another issue. because you have said you had people and processes in place. . you also have people and processes in place for people who want to send you meaningless political advice. ...

Congressman. >> madam secretary, they didnt get through, it didnt help them. were those responded to? is that your testimony today? >> many were responded to. there were affirmative responses to a number of requests for additional security -- >> and you laid it on chris stevens, didnt you? you said earlier, he knows where to pull the levers. so arent you implying that its his responsibility to figure out how hes supposed to be secure? because chris stevens knows how to pull the levers? is that y...

This, congressman. first, i made a number of decisions to close embassy chanceries and other official premises based on security. i closed the embase in tripoli april. had to evacuate all of the meshes out of libya. we lad to lease ferries that came from malta. we closed embassies and other facilities when we had a strong recommendation that it was necessary to do. secretarial responsibility. now, with respect to looking at every security request, how high should the wall be, whether there shoul...