US Lawmakers Seek Information on Benghazi Attack

 CAPITOL HILL — U.S. lawmakers have received the first post-election briefings on the deadly September attack on the U.S. consulate¹ in Benghazi, Libya. Senators are not revealing specific information provided to them by administration officials at the closed-door encounters, but several Republicans say they are far from satisfied with what they have learned so far.

On Congress’s first day of work since the elections, State Department and intelligence officials provided classified briefings to members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Emerging from the Foreign Relations Committee briefing, Republican Senator James Risch of Idaho said he wants to know more about the Benghazi attack and the Obama administration’s actions before and after the incident.

“There are still questions.  We are hearing explanations.  But there are a lot of us that want clearer explanations than what we are getting,” Rish said.

Lawmakers are duty-bound not to divulge² details from classified briefings, and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois honored that tradition.  But he did speak in general terms about what he learned about the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

“We just went through a detailed³ chronology in terms of what happened on September 11.  And there were some genuine acts of heroism⁴ that were performed there by Americans trying to save those who were in danger and lost their lives,” Durbin said.

Lawmakers are being given access to intelligence reports and classified communications pertaining⁵ to events in Libya.  National Intelligence Director James Clapper and acting⁶ Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Morell are expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida says another top official should testify: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I think, ultimately, we need to hear from Secretary Clinton.  I am sure she is willing to come in and talk about it.  I know she is traveling, but hopefully she will be back soon and we can get some answers from her,” Rubio said.

Rubio said he wants to know more about security assessments⁷ at the consulate prior to the attack, and why some administration officials insisted in the days after September 11 that available information pointed⁸ to a spontaneous demonstration⁹ rather than a pre-planned assault.

“I do not think there is any reasonable doubt now that this was not a protest gone violent.  This was an attack," said Rubio.

Senator Durbin said there is a reason it has taken weeks for the Obama administration to collect and provide information about the incident.

“It was a chaotic¹⁰ situation [in Benghazi], and it sprung up in a matter of hours.  And there was a limited access to even videotapes [of the attack] afterwards.  And we are trying to put it all together.  But it was a chaotic scene, and we were not able to have people on the ground to inspect that scene for a long period of time," Durbin said.

Complicating¹¹ matters further is the sudden resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus.  Several senators say that if Petraeus has information to share about events in Benghazi, he should testify on Capitol Hill.

1 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

2 divulge   

v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布

参考例句：

• They refused to divulge where they had hidden the money.他们拒绝说出他们把钱藏在什么地方。
• He swore never to divulge the secret.他立誓决不泄露秘密。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

5 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

10 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

11 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。