A former military security officer in Libya will tell Congress on Wednesday that the State Department withdrew security officers from the country even as violence from militias and criminal groups grew worse earlier this year, according to prepared remarks.
“The security in Benghazi was a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there,” Lt. Col. Andrew Wood wrote in testimony he plans to deliver later Wednesday at a politically charged hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
“The situation remained uncertain and reports from some Libyans indicated it was getting worse. Diplomatic security remained weak,” Wood’s testimony said.
The session, titled “Security Failures of Benghazi,” is expected to include sharp accusations from Republicans that the State Department was more interested in presenting a picture of an improving situation in Libya than in ensuring the safety of its staff there.
Wood, a Utah National Guard soldier, served in Libya from February to August. He worked closely with Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who was among four Americans killed during armed sieges of two U.S. diplomatic compounds in Benghazi last month.
There was a single Diplomatic Security offer stationed in Benghazi in April, Wood said, and the top State Department security officer for Libya “struggled to obtain additional personnel there but was never able to attain the numbers he felt comfortable with.”
Wood said that the White House National Security Council had detailed a 16-member Site Security Team to Libya early last year to help protect diplomats as the fragile Libyan government got organized. Wood was its leader. The State Department refused to extend the team’s mandate past Aug. 5, he said, and military members either left the country or were moved into different roles.
The top State Department security officer for Libya during most of Wood’s time there, Eric A. Nordstrom, separately told the committee that he requested that the team be extended through September or October, but that the request was denied.
Wood volunteered to testify as a whistleblower, although he said he is aware there may be consequences for his career. Nordstrom will also testify at the request of the Republican-led committee.
Republicans released a State Department compilation of more than 200 security incidents or threats across Libya between June 2011 and July 2012.
Nordstrom had told the committee in an e-mail that the Libyan government was “overwhelmed” and unable to guarantee diplomats’ safety.
“The environment in Libya was fragile at best and could degrade quickly,” Nordstrom wrote. “Certainly not an environment where [the Benghazi] post should be directed to ‘normalize’ operations and reduce security resources in accordance with an artificial timetable.”
Democrats and a top career State Department diplomat are expected to counter that Republicans had voted to cut security funding for diplomatic missions around the world. Committee Democrats also charged Tuesday that Republicans had hidden witnesses and withheld testimony ahead of the hearing.
“The security in Benghazi was a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there,” Lt. Col. Andrew Wood wrote in testimony he plans to deliver later Wednesday at a politically charged hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
“The situation remained uncertain and reports from some Libyans indicated it was getting worse. Diplomatic security remained weak,” Wood’s testimony said.
The session, titled “Security Failures of Benghazi,” is expected to include sharp accusations from Republicans that the State Department was more interested in presenting a picture of an improving situation in Libya than in ensuring the safety of its staff there.
Wood, a Utah National Guard soldier, served in Libya from February to August. He worked closely with Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who was among four Americans killed during armed sieges of two U.S. diplomatic compounds in Benghazi last month.
There was a single Diplomatic Security offer stationed in Benghazi in April, Wood said, and the top State Department security officer for Libya “struggled to obtain additional personnel there but was never able to attain the numbers he felt comfortable with.”
Wood said that the White House National Security Council had detailed a 16-member Site Security Team to Libya early last year to help protect diplomats as the fragile Libyan government got organized. Wood was its leader. The State Department refused to extend the team’s mandate past Aug. 5, he said, and military members either left the country or were moved into different roles.
The top State Department security officer for Libya during most of Wood’s time there, Eric A. Nordstrom, separately told the committee that he requested that the team be extended through September or October, but that the request was denied.
Wood volunteered to testify as a whistleblower, although he said he is aware there may be consequences for his career. Nordstrom will also testify at the request of the Republican-led committee.
Republicans released a State Department compilation of more than 200 security incidents or threats across Libya between June 2011 and July 2012.
Nordstrom had told the committee in an e-mail that the Libyan government was “overwhelmed” and unable to guarantee diplomats’ safety.
“The environment in Libya was fragile at best and could degrade quickly,” Nordstrom wrote. “Certainly not an environment where [the Benghazi] post should be directed to ‘normalize’ operations and reduce security resources in accordance with an artificial timetable.”
Democrats and a top career State Department diplomat are expected to counter that Republicans had voted to cut security funding for diplomatic missions around the world. Committee Democrats also charged Tuesday that Republicans had hidden witnesses and withheld testimony ahead of the hearing.