U.S. Military Supports FBI Mission to Benghazi, Libya

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2012 – The U.S. military provided logistics and security support to an FBI team investigating the attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

Pentagon Press Secretary George E. Little briefs reporters at the Pentagon, Oct. 4, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The team visited Benghazi for a number of hours and left there this morning, though the investigation is ongoing, Little told reporters during a Pentagon news conference.

The FBI and DOD coordinated fully with the State Department and the Libyan government on the Benghazi site investigation, he added.

Little said he would not discuss specifics “for obvious reasons,” as the same type of mission may occur in the future, but said military support included airlifting the FBI team during the visit.

“The U.S. government has been aggressively looking into precisely what happened since Sept. 11, when the attack occurred on … our consulate in Benghazi. … We’ve been actively chasing leads in various ways,” Little said. “The intelligence community, the State Department, FBI -- the full range of capabilities of this government -- have been used to try to determine what happened in this tragic incident.”

Little said the department stands ready to support U.S. military members and civilians in the region.

“We have the assets in the region to do just that,” he added.