As Americans, our national memory will always be etched with September 11. Each year, we pause to reflect on the horror of the attacks in 2001, to honor the lives lost at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93, and to recommit ourselves to vigilance in the face of terrorism. But as we mark those events, we must also remember another 9/11: the attack on our diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012.
On that night, Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other brave Americans — Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods — were killed in a brazen assault by heavily armed terrorists. Their names should be spoken aloud, their sacrifice remembered, and their story told. They were patriots serving their nation in one of the world’s most dangerous corners, and they gave their lives in the line of duty.
The tragedy of Benghazi is not just that Americans were killed. It is that their deaths were preventable. We had military assets stationed within striking distance. The Aviano Air Base in Italy, across the Mediterranean, placed U.S. forces within range to mount a rapid response. Reports have long suggested that the commander of AFRICOM requested authority to act, but that request was denied. In the hours when American lives hung in the balance, help never came.
The compound in Benghazi was not an official embassy or consulate. It was a Special Missions Compound, a fact that raises troubling questions about why it was so lightly protected and why pleas for increased security in the months leading up to the attack were ignored. Even more disturbing, subsequent investigations revealed indications that covert operations were being conducted there — possibly involving the movement of weapons from Libya into Syria. If true, this meant that politics and secrecy took precedence over transparency and, most importantly, over the safety of Americans on the ground.
That night in Benghazi stands as a stark reminder of what happens when political considerations outweigh the fundamental duty of government to protect its own citizens. The lack of decisive action did not stem from inability; it stemmed from unwillingness. And that failure rests squarely at the feet of the State Department and the administration in power at the time. These unnecessary deaths are laid squarely at the feet of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Valerie Jarrett, as the power of the United States military was available to save their lives but told to stand down.
How ironic that their deaths would come on the one year anniversary of the most horrific attack in American history, allowing the travesty to escape the spotlight as the nation remembered those lost in New York and Washington.
We owe it to Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods to speak plainly about what happened. Honoring their memory means more than lowering flags or holding ceremonies; it means ensuring that such a lapse never happens again. America must make it an ironclad principle that when our people are under attack, their defense is not subject to political calculation or bureaucratic delay.
As we reflect on this anniversary, let us remember the other 9/11. Let us honor those we lost not only with our words, but with a renewed commitment to action. Never again should an American diplomat or serviceman be left behind to die while help waits, and politics dithers. We must learn from Benghazi, and we must never forget.
Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer and United States Senate candidate, is the author of the book Kangaroo Court: How Dirty Prosecutors and Sleazy Lawyers Destroy Political Opponents, Attack Free Speech, and Subvert the Constitution; “Travesty of Justice: The Shocking Prosecution of Lieutenant Clint Lorance; The Last Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of World War II; and CALL SIGN EXTORTION 17: The Shootdown of SEAL Team Six. He is also the author of 15 books on the United States military, including three national bestsellers, and is a Publisher’s Weekly National Bestseller. He is one of four former JAG officers serving on the Lorance legal team. Lorance was pardoned by President Trump in November 2019. Brown is also a former military prosecutor and a former special assistant United States attorney and can be reached at don@brownfornc.com.
Image via Pxhere.