fear of retribution from libyan government because the libyan government had lost all control in eastern libyathe consulate had no confidence in the 17 and february martyrs brigade who were assigned responsibility for the consulate protection or th local police force. half the time the local police force would not even show up. lou: admiral, as you know, and the previous month, in july, the british ambassador had been attacked. the red cross had been attacked, and the united states was the only western power with presence in benghazi and precisely because in the deteriorating security environment, that is they knew there would be attacked if they stayed there. remarkable. we thank you for your time, appreciate. i hope you will come back and we can continue to analyze what is happening here. we appreciate ur time. >> look forward to it. thanks very much. lou: up next, outrage erupted in new york. frustration, and tempers flaring. and because the mayor had decided that the new york city marathon would go ahead, even as services, basic services were being denied hundreds of thousands of new york

the pattern of violent extremist activity in eastern libya was well documented by our intelligence communityleading up to the attacks of september 11th, 2012. the threat reporting was extensive and yet the administration seems to have gotten little support. many libyan friends and partners who did not overthrow gadhafi only to see al qaeda affiliated terrorists and militias take over large parts of their country. the american people deserve answers to these and other questions related to the benghazi attack and congress has a unique and constitutional role to play in getting to the truth of this matter as well as compiling the lessons of this tragedy so it's not repeated. ambassador chris stevens was doing everything we want our diplomats doing, he was getting outside the wire to advance america's interests and values in our increasingly dangerous world. while we want to encourage that diplomacy we want our fellow citizens who engage in this important work to know their government has taken every reasonable step to ensure their safety. for the sake of the families of those four brave america

both the british and red cross left eastern libya immediately forthwith, and the united states and itsmbassador who sought additional protection of all of that on the record to the state department, the cia, and to all involved in determining how secure that counsel would be. we will be back. we are not letting them go just yet. there's too much to assess. join us here later on national security in the political implications of the petraeus scandal and, of course, benghazi . european nations already on the wrong side of the fiscal cliff. the president says america can steer clear. >> i lieve. and confident it can be done. i don't expect the republicans simply to cut up my budget. the recognize that were going to have to compromise. compromise is hard. lou: more than a trillion and a half in tax hikes, no spending cuts. what's the deal? that's tonight's chalk talk. with leaders descending on the white house to persuade the president to be pro-business, the ceo of a restaurant chain carl's jr. and hardy's does not think the president is listening. next. 4g lte is the fastest. so, which s

al qaeda is running eastern libya. the other thing is not just president obama for president romney, is which president romney. we'll president romney be george bush preemptive military attack and potentially get us into another war in the middle east or will he be reckoned president romney? >> i think you have to keep your eye on iran. if president obama is reelected, i think we will see a deal with the iranians enabling them to enrich low levels in exchange for added surveillance and inspections. that is not a good deal for the united states. >> i think president obama reelected would be a lampshade. >> if barack obama is reelected, iran would get nuclear weapons and so will saudi arabia, egypt and turkey. lou: thank you so much, john. i appreciate it. thank you very much. coming up next, the campaign has been one of the dirtiest in history. twitter exploding with death threats aimed at governor romney and a nation bitterly divided. the good doctors join us to psychoanalyze the nation and these candidates. the polls

including the organization's all activeand operating and encamped in that region around benghazi and eastern libyat understand why you are asking for affirmation from patraeus for these things when what we really need to know is him of what in the world was he thinng when the place, the consulate was attacked in the amex and for americans are sing their lives as a result. don't you think that is the real issue? >> well, look. i think that all depends on what was the assessment just before. if this consulate was on some pacific island and we were attacked, yes, we would be hos, maybe days to figure out who these people work. there were ten training camps, so when the attack gan the only enemy force in the area was [talking over each other] death. that is why i think the order should have bee protect that area because they are attacking yes. i don't know why the order was not given. lou: what would be the question th you would want patraeus to answer before congress? what do you see as the most important questions right now? >> i think the most important question is what was the cia doing in benghaz

officers into benghazi to search for those weapons and you had a lot of jihadists moving into eastern libya>> and i know your report covers how the fact that the cia was so prevalent, created perhaps serious confusion on who was responsible for security. bob, this was a covert operation and they were in libya trying to secure these weapons. is it realistic to do that job, to be a covert operative and also be you know, you're doing quote unquote real job, providing security to the consulate? >> erin, the problem is it's hard to hide that many westerners in a city like benghazi, then almost attach the american consulate makes it even more dift. thirdly, the cia does not do physical security. whether in afghanistan or iraq and that left it up to seven officers and that's not enough to do it. it fell between the cracks. normally, it would be state department building barriers, hiring security companies. the cia just doesn't do that. it keeps its own security. they did a heroic job trying to recover the ambassador. i think the real mistake, it was a misassessment. clearly, the ambassador knew, b

crescendo of intelligence that they clear al-qaeda and the ansar al-sharia, radical groups coming to eastern libyasurrounding of benghazi did we leigh our state department personnel there without the security. why when they were attacked did the defense department not have ask security to come to their defense. >> chris: you hold closed door hearings with the top officials. somebody said good luck with lightning round. after meeting with the top, this isn't to the point. i promise we get there. are you satisfied with them not notifying congress or the administration about the petraeus' affair until as late as they did, which was last week? i still have questions about that. the f.b.i. developed an important cyber security capacity, important to our country. second, they have got this -- >> chris: we are on a lightning round. >> lightning round. >> i haven't answered that to my satisfaction yet. i understand why they would keep an f.b.i. investigation confidential from everybody until they saw a crime. but this suddenly involved two of our highest ranking generals, petraeus and allen. i think that

the pattern of violent extremist activity in eastern libya was well-documented by our intelligence communityonths, leading up to the attacks of september 11th, 2012. the threat reporting was extensive, and yet the administration seems to have done little to support our many libyan friend and partners who did not overthrow qaddafi only to see al qaeda still eighted terrorists and militias overtake large parts of their country? the american people deserve answers to these and other questions related to the benghazi attack and congress has a unique and constitutional role to play in getting to the truth of this matter as well as compiling the lessons of this tragedy so it's not repeated. ambassador chris stevens was doing everything we want our diplomats doing. he was getting outside the wire to advance america's interests and values in our increasingly dangerous world. while we want to encourage that kind of diplomacy we also want our fellow citizens who engage in this important work to know that their government is taking every reasonable step to insure their safety. for the sake of the famil

open up the border between the gaza strip and egypt and then that allows arms to go from libya, eastern libyaugh egypt, into the gaza stri melissa: would you. all this gets more complicated we think about energy, a third of the world's oil, 36% comes from this region, a little more than a third. ilso worry about the sue west canal which is right there. >> you should. nobody is paying attention. everybody looking at persian gulf. look at the suez canal, 120 miles long. i it is so narrow it is a single lane with a few passing lanes in it. the sinai peninsula which is the piece of land between israel and egypt, pret vacant. desert, nobody is there except al qaeda set up shop there recently. if somebody decides they want to take out a tanker that is going through the suez canal or mine part of the suez canal, 120 miles long, loosely defended, you could do some real damage there. th that takes all the trade that goes from europe to south asia, all of a sudden they have to go arou africa. melissa: real quick, before we go, looking at the pictures overnight and this morning and even our reporters th

the attack on the consulate cemented the view among analysts that eastern libya is now ungoverned space the libyan government has tried and failed to exert control. by mid-augusta month before the attack an emergency action committee at the consulate was briefed, that ten groups had training camps in benghazi itself. trace? >>trace: back home, catherine, republican lawmakers have sent another letter to the white house demanding answers on the consulate attack. what do we know? >> senator graham charges that the obama administration has failed to response adding that the obama white house was keen to provide details open benghazi but it sun fair to the american people and the families of the victims of benghazi to not provide the same level of detailed facts accounting to a national failure. and fox is told that james clapper, was definite, his team did not make controversial chains to a series of talking points on the attack that critics say played down terrorism but now his office says they were responsible. >> i think clapper has to say, and has to say publicly, whether he advocated t

inothe intelligence bs showed al-qaeda had been building up training camps and other facilities in eastern libya for more than a year. in fact, not just u.s. intelligence, of course, british intelligence reports, french intelligence reports, and libyan intelligence reports showed the same pattern. we have congressional testimony that showed that 35 minutes into the attack on the benghazi consulate there was realtime video. she knew very well talking points she was asked to present were false or at the very at least misleading. yet that's what she said. >> sean: it was a lie, and it was done for a political purposes. k.t., back to you. there were three conclusions as a result of the attacks in 1998. one was a fault for assessing the threat of terrorism worldwide, in nairobi, not withstanding the ambassador's pleas there. new funding for the embassies, and failure to prepare vehicles for -- in other words, the same chronology. >> word for word, and one they should have learned, even back in beirut in the marine barracks bombing in 1993. >> sean: exactly. >> we knew this stuff was coming, knew al-q

to deal with the fact that al-qaeda and affiliated groups that have established sanctuaries in eastern libyaeager for our assistance. this is perhaps the most troubling question. the pattern of violent ativity in libya is well documented by our intelligence community for months leading up to the attacks of september 11th, 2012. the threat reporting was extensive and yet, the administration seems to have gone a little to support our many libyan friends and partners who did not overthrow gadhafi only to see al-qaeda affiliating terrorists and militias take over large parts of their country. the american people deserve answers t answers to these and other questions related to the benghazi attack and congress has a unique role to play in getting to the truth of this matter as well as compiling the lessons of this tragedy so it's not repeated. ambassador chris stevens was doing everything we want our diplom diplomats doing. he was getting outside the wire to advance america's interests an values in our increasedly dangerous world. while we want to encourage that kind of diplomacy, we want our fel

what you say, prior to this event it was clear the terrorists were gaining a foothold in eastern libyaand why wasn't more done to give them the protection that they needed at the benghazi compound? this substance was lost, in the debate on the talking points, and that is the important issue to me. >> thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >>> rebel fighters in syria claiming a major victory. they say they have shot down three regime military aircraft in the past 24 hours, including a mig fighter jet. if it is true, the military may be taking hits from its own weapons. cnn's arwa damon is on scene, and joins us next. ♪ ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] oh what fun it is to ride. get the mercedes-benz on your wish list at the winter event going on now -- but hurry, the offer ends soon. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant why does my mouth feel dryer than i remember it to be? there are more people taking more medication, we may see more cavities, bad breath, oral irritation. a dry mouth sufferer do

because on september 1st, interior minister put them on high alert saying we're losing control in eastern libya. it was crystal clear that militias were taking over that al-qaeda were flying flags above government buildings in benghazi. >> greta: explain to the 9-16 cable and the other one you spoke, one is classified, one is not. what wo one be classified and other not and who makes that determination? >> the state department has rigid rules about that. i think the ambassador was abiding by those. again, i can't comment on the classified. when we were bombed on june 6th --. >> greta: i'm curious, making a document classified is a convenient way to keep things out of the hands of the public. it's classified and protected or what? >> oftentimes there is specific information about sources and methods, specific people that are involved that are helping our government. we don't want those revealed or those people killed. that would put it into a degree of classification where others are more general information that you can hand to anybody. the information the committee has been talking about and l

at a lot -- all of the classified intelligence, there was a growing crescendo of evidence that eastern libyazi was becoming a kind of outlawed territory, al qaeda-related groups, radical militias there, and well-known that the place was just teaming with weapons that had been seized from the gadhafi government. it was a very dangerous brew. and there was also incidentally unclassified, open source of information. there had been a previous attack, a bomb exploded outside our benghazi mission, the british mission had been attacked, red cross mission. the british government closed its mission in benghazi. i haven't reached a conclusion but i worry that there was a lot of evidence that was not adequately responded to. >> do you think what susan rice said after the fact should be enough to prevent her from being nominated and successfully confirm ford secretary of state? >> i don't. i mean, i'm -- the question of who president obama nominates for secretary of state is obviously up to the president. that's a right he's earned by his re-election. but i have been over the intelligence, the talking p

ever intelligence that made clear that al-qaeda and a bunch of radical groups were coming into eastern libya in the surrounding of benghazi, did we leave our state department personnel there without security? and why when they were attacked did our defense department not have resources anywhere nearby to come to their defense? i mean, long run, those are the critical questions. >> i want to ask both of you a series of questions in this regard because you do hole these closed-door hearings this week with all the top officials. and i'm going to try to ask you to do it in a lightning round, quick answers, questions questions and somebody said good luck with that. senator leiberman, after meeting with top -- this isn't quite to the point but i promise you we will get that. after meeting with top fbi officials this week, are you satisfied with their decision not to notify congress and the white house about the investigation of general petraeus's affair until as late as they did, which is last week? >> you know, i still have questions about that. i think, first, you have to acknowledge that the fb

of mass destruction with iraq it was such a significant blow to the agency pushing them out of eastern libya, so, again, he says it is for personal reasons and we accept that at face value but we have to see it in the context coming before the hearings and not clear who will take his place at the hearings. number two, in the context of the last two months, and what has been very vocal dissatisfaction from some lawmakers with the quality of the brief and the presentations from the c.i.a. director on benghazi. >>trace: going back if i can, i want to get back to ed henry, i want to get your take on this because catherine started this out before we got confirmation that general petraeus was, in fact, stepping down because of an extramarital affair which he has apologized for. she was talking about the white house and the c.i.a. being at loggerheads over this timeline on benghazi. now, unclear whether yep general will continue to testify at hearings neck week or if someone else will take his place. what does this say about the tension that might have been, that might have been brewing between the

prior to the events it was clear terrorists were gaining a foothold in eastern libya, where wasn't morerevent the attack, give them the security they needed? the substance is sort of lost and the debate about the talking points and that's the far more important issue to me. >> fran, raul, thanks very much for joining me. >> thanks very much. >> pleasure. >>> rebel fighters in syria claiming a major victory. they say they have shot down three regime military aircraft in the past 24 hours, including a mig fighter jet. if so, the regime may be taking hits from its own weapons. arwa damon on the scene. she joins us next. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these prod

it was al qaeda affiliated, running wild, the government had lost all control of eastern libya.day of the attack, the blue mountains security manager who actually hired the 17th of february martyrs brigade to protect the consulate says there was something wrong. he put out an alert on both of the radios and cell phones. in fact, there have been reported that there was a split between him and the martyrs brigade. after that, we have a group that we know three hours before the attack, the al sharia militia, the al qaeda affiliated, was setting up roadblocks and checkpoints around the consulate. megyn: the link to this has now been established or number of channels. you also had an issue with how we responded. jennifer griffin has reported that three calls for help by those who are under attack were ignored or rejected by the cia, it looks like, and yet the cia has denied that. you say in your editorial, having been a number of similar situations, i know that you have to have courage to do it right. and to take immediate action. what he mean by that? >> well, in this particular cas

benghazi has effectively taken the united states presence and the cia presence and pushed it out of eastern libya. >> we now have lost that asset, we've lost that cia unit that was there on the ground monitoring and trying to tell us about weapon systems that were moving through that area and al-qaida in that area. so awful that has been lost. >> reporter: there is also this proposal from a senior senate republican to have a select committee to handle the multiple investigations to bring them into one tent, if you will, though we've already seen a push back from the senate majority leader harry reid, as well as some senior republicans in the senate, as well as merates who believe that this is premature and that the individual committees should be allowed to have their own investigations play out, jenna. jenna: a story very much still developing. catherine, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. jon: for more on the benghazi hearings i'm joined by peter brooks, senior fellow for national security affairs at the heritage foundation, also a former kreurbg cia officer. if you were on one of those co