WASHINGTON — The House Select Committee on Benghazi released its report on Tuesday detailing the attacks in Libya on Sept. 11, 2012, that resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The Republican-led committee found no evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton, then the secretary of state. Here is a selection of summarized findings in the report, with fact checks:

1. Benghazi Report Released

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• As the Post wrote when it posted its story last week, the 60 Minutes report led to renewed partisan debate over the Benghazi attack: 'The man whom CBS. NPR's David Folkenflik is planning to have more on the 60 Minutes report and apology on All Things Considered later today. Click here to find an NPR.

Military

Jun 28, 2016. An independent inquiry in December 2012, among others, came to a similar conclusion. That report faulted State Department officials in Washington for ignoring requests from the American Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, for more guards at the Benghazi mission and for failing to make sufficient safety upgrades.

Finding: Despite President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s clear orders to deploy military assets, nothing was sent to Benghazi, and nothing was en route to Libya at the time the last two Americans were killed almost eight hours after the attacks began. — Part 1, Pages 106, 141

This criticism is not particularly new. Senior Pentagon officials have consistently said that they were constrained by the “tyranny of time and distance” — that is, that the military could not have sent troops or planes in time to have made a difference. The report and Republican critics have always countered that had the White House and Pentagon acted more swiftly, they might have mitigated the later attack on the compound’s C.I.A. annex. But it is unclear what forces might have made a difference there.

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Finding: A Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team sat on a plane in Rota, Spain, for three hours, and its members changed in and out of their uniforms four times. — Part 1, Page 154

This sounds like dithering that might have cost American lives. But the uniform swaps reflect the chaos and confusion in sorting out what was going on in Benghazi, and whether American forces should arrive identifiable as United States military personnel or be less noticeable in civilian clothes. Even the report acknowledges the challenges facing the so-called FAST teams: These troops did not have their own planes, which meant delays waiting for flights; did not travel with their own vehicles (they would need to find some in Benghazi when they landed); and were designed to deploy before a crisis hit, not during hostilities.

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Finding: The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff typically would have participated in the White House meeting, but did not attend because he went home to host a dinner party for foreign dignitaries. — Part 1, Page 107

This suggests that the Obama administration was not treating the crisis seriously. But the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., was not a critical player in the drama. He was only one of many senior officials involved in managing the crisis, and was briefed after his dinner. There were many other senior White House, State Department and Pentagon officials, both in Washington and overseas, dealing with the crisis throughout the night.

State Department

Finding: The State Department failed to protect United States diplomats in Libya. In August 2012, roughly a month before the Benghazi attacks, security on the ground worsened significantly. Mr. Stevens initially planned to travel to Benghazi in early August, but canceled the trip “primarily for Ramadan/security reasons.” — Part 3, Page 99

An independent inquiry in December 2012, among others, came to a similar conclusion. That report faulted State Department officials in Washington for ignoring requests from the American Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, for more guards at the Benghazi mission and for failing to make sufficient safety upgrades. As security in Libya worsened in the summer of 2012, the State Department remainedcommitted to a security strategyto deploy a modest American security force and then increasingly rely on trained Libyan personnel to protect American diplomats. That strategy, which had been set a year earlier after the fall of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government, failed.

Intelligence agencies

Finding: Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta bluntly told the committee “an intelligence failure” occurred with respect to Benghazi. A former C.I.A. deputy director, Michael Morell, also acknowledged multiple times an intelligence failure did in fact occur prior to the Benghazi attacks. —Part 3, Page 129

Warning signs were indeed flashing red for months before the attack. The Obama administration received intelligence reports that Islamic extremist groups were operating training camps in the mountains near Benghazi. By June, the city had experienced a string of assassinations, as well as attacks on the Red Cross and on a British envoy’s motorcade. Mr. Stevens emailed his superiors in Washington in August, alerting them to “a security vacuum” in the city.

Abstract

Objectives:

The aim of the study was to evaluate the factors responsible for road traffic accidents in Benghazi.

Material and Methods:

Retrospective and descriptive studies were done in the years 2006-2007. The data was collected from Traffic and License Department, Benghazi. The data were analyzed, based on fatalities, the severely handicapped, hit and run victims and were correlated with age, sex, time, environmental factors, type of roads, etc.

Results:

One-Thousand-Two-Hundred-Sixty-Five accidents occurred between the years 2006-2007 within the Benghazi city limits; 11.14% of the injuries were fatal; 67.35% of the victims had severe injuries and 21.51% escaped with minor injuries. Table 1 shows that 73.04% lost their lives within the city limits, 13.47% on the fly-over, and 2.12% on minor roads connected to main roads within the city limits. The mean of the accidents and its standard deviation were 16.66± 25.67 with a variance of fatality of 1.54.

Conclusion:

It is concluded from the studies that major road traffic accidents occur because of environmental stress factors. In addition, fatalities and the seriousness of the accidents depend on a number of factors such as the age of the vehicle, safety measures, human error and time and place of accident.

INTRODUCTION

The major cause of sudden deaths in Benghazi is Road Traffic Accidents. The sad fact is that road traffic accidents constitute the number one killer in Libya. Not a day goes by in Libya without the deaths of families, young men, women and children in horrific car accidents. It is estimated that more than one million people lose their lives as a result of road accidents. A number of factors, including human error, the vehicle, safety measures, environment and place of accident influence the seriousness of the accident. The Department of Transport and License in Benghazi determines the relationship between safety and liability in accidents.³ This had promoted the understanding of the elements of the environment and ideas of safety that greatly influence the driver's attitude. There will therefore, be practical recommendations, and an enforcement of the road and traffic regulations to reduce the number of road traffic accidents.⁴ Male drivers are responsible for highest number of fatalities in major accidents in the world.

The purpose of the study was to identify all major factors, responsible for road accidents in Benghazi.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The Department of Transport and License in Benghazi collects data on the incidence of Road Traffic accidents. It identifies, any relationship between the development of the culture of safety and the likelihood of accidents. The result is an understanding of the elements of the environment and the culture of safety that tend to have greatest influence on the driver's attitude. Consequently, practical recommendations will emanate on how the ideas of safety and road traffic rules can reduce the road traffic accidents. The study was conducted between the years 2006 and 2007 in Benghazi. Data was collected from Traffic and License Department and analyzed statistically according to different parameters such as age, sex, time, environmental factors, type of roads, vehicles running out of control, non-adherence to traffic rules, drunk driving, lack of concentration while driving, change of lanes, etc. Data entry and analysis were carried out with the help of statistical analysis.⁶

RESULTS

A total of 1265 accidents occurred during the years 2006-2007 within Benghazi city limits, 11.14% were fatal, 67.35% caused severe injuries and 21.51% escaped with minor injuries. Table 1 shows that 73.04% lost their lives within the city limits. This is followed by 13.47% who died on the fly-over, and 2.12% on minor roads connected to main roads within the city. The mean and its standard deviation of accidents were 16.66± 25.67 and variance of fatality was 1.54.

Table 1

Fatalities in road traffic accidents according to zones

Table 2 shows accidents resulting in severe injuries. The major accidents occurred within city limits (87.67%) followed by 5.98% on the coastal highway and least number of accidents was 2.11% on minor roads linking main road. The mean of the severely injured persons in total number of accidents is 16.66± 31.82. The variance of the total number of accidents is 1.91.

Table 2

Severe injuries in road traffic accidents by zones

Table 3 shows accidents and deaths that occurred within 24 hours: 39.23% occurred between 13:00-18:00 hours, followed by 33.84 % from 18:00 to 24:00 hours and the lowest number of accidents 5.38% 0-6 hours with a mean of 24.99± 13.01 and a variance of 0.52.

Table 3

Road traffic accidents according to time interval and death rate

Table 4 shows hit and run victims (both sexes). Males were 85.93% of the total hit and run victims, while female were 14.06%. The table also presents ages of the victims.

Table 4

Distribution of hit and run victims by age and sex

DISCUSSION

One-hundred-thirty people lost their lives between 2006 and 2007, while 850 people were severely injured (Table ​(Table11 and ​and2).2). The accidents and deaths were not due to a single cause, but were the result of combination of failures, including driver error, problems with the vehicle, surface of the road and lay-out, weather conditions and the time of day.^7,

More road accidents occurred here late at night than occurred in developed countries.⁹ The results, (Table 3), revealed that 33.84% of the accidents occurring between 2006 and 2007, may have been due to environmental factors such as fog or winter rains. In addition, unlit streets, lack of concentration by drivers, aggression, faulty car tyres, failure of the brake system and vehicle lights and age of the vehicle were contributing factors. Collision occurred as a result of obstruction of the roads by broken down vehicles and reduced visibility resulting from bad car lights, which is a typical feature of accidents in Benghazi. The study confirmed that reduced visibility as a result of Ghibli (sirocco), winter rains also led to accidents.^10,11

One of the causes of accidents in Benghazi city is suburban expansion of Benghazi city in the last few years. This has led to a phenomenal increase in the use of motor vehicles. Road accidents are inevitable consequences of the increased distances traveled since the tendency is to drive at high speeds to reach destinations more quickly. Conflicting desires of drivers and their lack of courtesy, multiple access points and exits on both sides of the road, advertisements that distract drivers′ attention, signs, visibility, and parked cars may be some of the causes of collisions. It is evident from the results that the highest number of fatalities was recorded near the city (73.04%) compared to 0% on the city's main roads and rough roads. The accidents and high velocity impact collisions on the highway and main road were due to high speeds and the sudden change of lanes by drivers without due care or regard for other drivers or oncoming vehicles.¹⁰

Accidents involving pedestrians increase with urbanization. They are usually the victims of hit and run (Table 4). This increased risk-involving pedestrians as a result of the lack of crosswalks and sidewalks and inadequate lighting on small roads. Together with other factors such as alcohol abuse and pedestrian carelessness, the number of accidents increase. It is also possible that a large number of these accidents have been noted as having been caused by the distraction of the driver or other observational failures. Studies^9,10 have shown that most accidents occur in the early hours of the morning whereas, the study in Benghazi showed that most accidents occurred between 13:00 and 24:00 hours. This could be attributed to stress and environmental factors.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded from the studies that major road traffic accidents occur as a result of environmental factors and stress. In addition, fatalities and the seriousness of the accidents depend on number of factors such as the age of the vehicle, safety measures, human error and time and place of accident.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All the authors are very thankful to Colonel Dr Asshour, Director of Traffic and License Department, Benghazi, Captain Khalid Siddique and Mr. Salem Zyani of the Statistics and Records Department of Traffic and License for their valuable support with data.

REFERENCES

Benghazi Report Released