White House releases emails on Benghazi

The White House on Wednesday, May 15, released about a hundred pages of emails related to an attack on a US mission in Libya, to dispel claims of a cover-up. The assault on the mission in September 2012 killed four Americans, including US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. Republicans have been alleging that the White House was downplaying the terrorism angle ahead of the presidential election in November 2012. The released emails showed that officials erred on the side of caution in the hours after the attacks, as various agencies that included the CIA, National Security Council, the State Department debated on which talking points to use in describing the attack and its causes. Initially the White House attributed the attack to a spontaneous protest instead of organized extremists in Libya, who later emerged as being involved. President Barack Obama’s critics on Capitol Hill said the release of the documents still left unanswered questions about the administration’s handling of the Benghazi attack.

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A related story is on the BBC.