• Dad of US bodyguard 'blown up twice' in Benghazi says State Department should admit mistakes

    Molly Riley / Pool via Getty Images, file

    President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hold their hands over their hearts during the Transfer of Remains Ceremony for the return of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three Americans at Joint Base Andrews on Sept. 14.

    By NBC News staff and Reuters

    The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Libyan city of Benghazi said Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred.

    David Ubben, a 31-year-old State Department employee, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the Sept. 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.


    As David Ubben recuperates at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, his father, Rex Ubben, said he did not blame the State Department or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for his son's injuries.

    But he added, "I do find it troubling that they have not owned up to their shortcomings; in government, in the military, and in business, if something goes wrong, you admit it, correct it, and move on."

    "If you were in charge, it was your fault," he said in an email exchange with Reuters.

    Rex Ubben's comments came after some congressional Republicans on Tuesday called for Clinton to provide more information about security at U.S. compounds in Benghazi in the days, weeks and months leading up to the attacks.

    The administration is under more fire from Congress over its handling of the Benghazi attack – with new questions about security and intelligence failure. Ambassador Chris Hill joins Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss.

    Sensitive documents left behind at US consulate in Benghazi, Libya

    In a letter to Clinton, Reps. Darrell Issa of California and Jason Chaffetz of Utah recounted a number of attacks in Libya this year and alleged that requests from U.S. officials in the country for heightened security went unheeded.

    Debate over whether President Barack Obama's administration was caught unprepared by an assault by militant groups has become U.S. election-year fodder.

    At the consulate where four Americans died security consisted of one U.S. regional security officer and a local militia. Ambassador Chris Stevens often had little personal security detail. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.

    Ubben said people understood "mistakes and lack of foresight do happen," but, "to attempt to delay or cover information up, upcoming election or no, might put other people's lives at risk and fools no one."

    Clinton vowed Wednesday to pursue a full accounting of the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi "wherever that leads," but cautioned it could take time for a complete picture to emerge.

    Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., joins Morning Joe to discuss a grim milestone for U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan, President Obama's relationship with U.S. military leaders, the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and the upcoming presidential debates.

    "There are continuing questions about what exactly happened in Benghazi on that night three weeks ago. And we will not rest until we answer those questions and until we track down the terrorists who killed our people," Clinton said in Washington.

    Federal officials told NBC News on Thursday that members of an FBI team sent to Libya are now in Benghazi. 

    Military forces secured the site to permit the FBI to conduct an investigation of the site in an effort to collect forensic evidence and recover any U.S. documents that may have been left at the scene. The FBI had not visited the site until now because of the potential threat from regional militias.

    The Benghazi attack killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, information technology specialist Sean Smith and security guards Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.

    FBI agents keep out of Benghazi

    Ubben said his son was on temporary assignment in Libya and that his deployment came in July, after - and perhaps in response to - earlier security incidents.

    Mohammad Hannon / AP, file

    A Libyan man explains that bloodstains on a column are from one of the American staff members injured on Sept. 11 in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

    On June 6, an improvised bomb was placed at the north gate of the Benghazi mission. It blew a hole in the fence.

    Rex Ubben, 60, said he was a 24-year Air Force veteran who retired in 1995 as master sergeant. He was based at various U.S. embassies. Since retiring, he has been a computer programmer for several banks.

    Son said it was an attack, not a riot
    He said David Ubben described the violence on Sept. 11 as "obviously an attack and not a riot," and sketched out what appeared to be a sophisticated mortar attack during the second wave of the assault. That took place at another compound where U.S. and Libyan personnel retreated, and resulted in the death of Doherty and Woods.

    "What I wanted to know was whether the second part of the attack was pre-planned. The first (mortar) dropped 50 yards short and the next two were right on target," he said, adding his son "was not conscious for any more."

    Libyan president to NBC: Anti-Islam film had 'nothing to do with' US Consulate attack

    "This indicates to me that someone was either very, very good, highly trained and skilled, or that the mortar was already set up and pointed at the safe house and only minor adjustments were needed," he said.

    Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    Ubben also questioned why it took so long for his son to reach a hospital after the attack, saying of his son's condition, "by my count, there were five or six broken bones (one completely smashed, thus the operations) and shrapnel damage head to toe. I was surprised at how many parts of him were injured."

    Libya arrests four suspected in deadly US Consulate attack in Benghazi

    David Ubben is having a series of surgeries and his father expects him to be hospitalized for several months.

    Several questions still remain as to why top U.S. officials offered the wrong initial assessment of the Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans. Was there a cover-up? Or were they trying to avoid acknowledging mistakes so close to the presidential election? The Obama administration has denied any wrongdoing. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    Rex Ubben said his son did not share many details of the attack with him, but added: "He seems to have been blown up twice, and kept going after the first one. ... I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to whoever did the first aid the first time, the second time, and maintained the tourniquets until they could get him out of there."

    Ubben said he was bothered that "people do not seem to realize that this was a much bigger disaster for the people of Libya than it was for us, that they were attacked just like we were."

    NBC News' Pete Williams and Jim Miklaszewski contributed to this story.

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  • Libyan president to NBC: Anti-Islam film had 'nothing to do with' US Consulate attack

    In an interview with NBC's Ann Curry, Libya's president Mohammed Magarief said there's 'no doubt' the attack that killed four Americans in Libya was preplanned, and not a result of the controversial anti-Islam movie that sparked violent protests.

     

    By NBC News staff

    Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET: An anti-Islam film that sparked violent protests in many countries had "nothing to do with" a deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi earlier this month, Libya's president told NBC News.

    In an exclusive interview with NBC News' Ann Curry, President Mohamed Magarief discounted claims that the attack was in response to a movie produced in California and available on YouTube. He noted that the assault happened on Sept. 11 and that the video had been available for months before that.

    "Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September," he said. "They chose this date, 11th of September to carry a certain message."

    NYT: Deadly Libya attack a major blow to CIA efforts

    Magarief said there were no protesters at the site before the attack, which he noted came in two assaults, first with rocket-propelled grenades on the consulate, then with mortars at a safe house.

    Slideshow: Anger over film spreads throughout Muslim world

    Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

    Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.

    Launch slideshow

    The attack took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

    US Ambassador Chris Stevens was 'courageous,' Obama says

    Magarief told Curry that based on the accuracy of the assault, he believes the attackers must have had training and experience using the weapons.

    "It's a pre-planned act of terrorism," he said, adding that the anti-Islam film had "nothing to do with this attack."

    Though Magarief believes the attack was the work of Islamist fundamentalists, he dismisses any notion that Libya is in danger of becoming a theocracy.

    Libyan President Mohammed Magarief tells NBC's Ann Curry that Islamic fundamentalists do not share the same goals and aspirations as most people in his country.

    “This will never happen,“ he said. “ They don’t have the strength. They don’t have the supporters. They will remain a minority that’s isolated, that will not be accepted by us. And I’m sure Libyans will fight to the last man against seeing this happen in our land.”

    'A strong friend'
    Magarief said that while Libyans appeared to be behind the attack that "these Libyans do not represent the Libyan people or Libyan population in any sense of the word."

    Hilary Stevens, sister of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya who died Tuesday during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. In an interview with Rock Center Anchor Brian Williams, Stevens reflects on her brother's legacy and work.

    He added: "We consider the United States as a friend, not only a friend, a strong friend, who stood with us in our moment of need."

    More than 40 people have been questioned in connection with the incident, the Libyan leader told Curry.

    He described Stevens as a "humble and very unique human being" and a "great friend of Libya."

    Backlash: Protesting Libyans storm militant compound

    Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    The Obama administration initially maintained that the attacks were directly linked to protests over the film. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said: “What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video.”

    However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney last week said it was "self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack."

    Slain ambassador's mom: 'He was trying to do something much bigger'

    Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said: “There are no words that excuse the killing of innocent” people.

    On Tuesday, President Obama spoke to the United Nations general assembly in an emotional speech about the recent violence against Americans. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

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  • Ambassador Rice: Benghazi attack began spontaneously

    U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice recaps the causes and effects of recent violence against Americans in the Middle East.

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    The attack that killed four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, apparently began as a spontaneous protest against an anti-Islam film before turning violent, Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday.


    Rice, appearing in NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said she was citing preliminary information and that the FBI was investigating the Tuesday night attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three others.

    Libyan officials are holding 30 to 40 suspecting in the deadly attack of a the US embassy in Libya. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    A wave of protests and violence has swept across the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world over an obscure, amateurish movie called "Innocence of Muslims" that depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a pedophile. Anti-U.S. protests in 20 countries led the Pentagon to dispatch elite Marine antiterrorism teams to Libya and Yemen and to position two Navy warships off Libya's coast.

    Meanwhile, the State Department ordered all nonessential U.S. government workers and their families out of Sudan and Tunisia. In Lebanon, protesters torched an American fast-food restaurant. Even as tensions appeared to ease over the weekend, al-Qaida's most active Mideast branch was calling for further attacks on U.S. embassies.

    "There's no question, as we've seen in the past with things like 'The Satanic Verses,' with the cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, there have been such things that have sparked outrage and anger and this has been the proximate cause of what we've seen," Rice said.

    “What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video,” Rice said.

    More from "Meet the Press": Israeli PM tries to strike more neutral pose in U.S. election 

    Protesters in Cairo had breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy and tore down the American flag.

    In Benghazi, Rice told “Meet the Press” host David Gregory, “Opportunistic extremist elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding, they came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are readily available in post-revolutionary Libya, and it escalated into a much more violent episode.”

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    There was “no actionable intelligence” that the attack in Benghazi was imminent, Rice said. The attack overwhelmed security in place at the consulate, she said.

    Rice’s comments came a day after Libyan President Mohammed Magarief told NBC News that “foreigners” were involved in the planning and execution of the attack.

    He expanded on the assertion Sunday, saying on CBS’ "Face the Nation" that about 50 people, not all Libyans, have been arrested in connection with the Benghazi attack, which he said was planned by al-Qaida-linked foreigners, some from Mali and Algeria.

    Magarief said there was little doubt the assault was planned rather than a spontaneous reaction to the video, as came on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

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    He said the security situation in Libya remained "difficult" for Americans, as well as for Libyans. The United States wants the FBI to investigate the consulate attack, but Magarief said it may be too soon to send in investigators.

    "It may be better for them to stay away for a little while until we do what we have to do ourselves," he said.

    Rice told "Meet the Press" that the U.S. is working with authorities in Libya, which has received $200 million in U.S. aid since 2011, to bring to justice those responsible for the attack.

    This article includes reporting by Reuters.

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