CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Benghazi 2012 Attack

Interview

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And joining us now, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: You're welcome.

BLITZER: A very important report your committee just released today, including that the attacks on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi were likely preventable, that those attacks killed the U.S. Ambassador and three other Americans.

Who should be held responsible for what clearly was a failure?

FEINSTEIN: Well, let me say why, uh, the report says they're very likely preventable, and that's because there was adequate intelligence. Uh, I personally went through a stack like this of intelligence, uh, that forewarned, uh, and we know there were a number of events, uh, attacks that took place in the six months prior to, uh, Benghazi.

Uh, we also know that, uh, there was discussion about added security. We know the ambassador did not want added security. Uh, we know there were concerns about Benghazi. We know there were training camps around that area.

And, uh, it is something that I think the State Department has to really come to grips with, uh, and see that we have 285 missions and embassies that, in fact, they are secure.

Now, there's a question of us providing the money for them to do that. But I don't believe that our people should be put in harm's way without adequate security.

BLITZER: The, uh, senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, issued a statement shortly after your report was released, saying that his committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, should reexamine former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's what he calls failure to provide adequate security.

Does the buck stop with her?

FEINSTEIN: Well, let me say this. And it's interesting that the first thing out of the box is something that's political. There is no evidence that Secretary Clinton even knew about this. Uh, there is an undersecretary for management. There are others that run these facilities, that evaluate these facilities, that make the decisions with respect to security.

But for the future, we now know that will have to beef up security. And we should do that. And I'm -- rather than casting recriminations, I think the most constructive thing to do is see that any facilities which need increased security get that increased security. Secondly, that we have assets, uh, strategically able to get to a place where we have troubled facilities in time, uh, to defend.

Now, that's difficult to do. And it was not possible to do in the case of Benghazi. The distances were just too great.

But one of the things that has transpired, Wolf, is the spread of terror. Uh, you see it in Libya. It's in Yemen. It's in Syria. It's in Iraq. It's in Mali. It's in, uh, the Central African Republic, it's in Somalia. And that's just a few places.

BLITZER: Did al Qaeda play a role in fomenting or creating or doing anything that resulted in those attacks in Benghazi?

FEINSTEIN: Well, groups loosely associate themselves, not necessarily with al Qaeda in Pakistan, but loosely. And, uh, there are suspects. And they are out there. And by name, it's another group. But, uh, loosely identified with al Qaeda.

BLITZER: So there was some sort of al Qaeda connection. I raise the question...

FEINSTEIN: Well, I don't...

BLITZER: -- because the "New York Times" had that long article saying there was no al Qaeda connection.

FEINSTEIN: Well, it depends on what you're talking about.

Are you talking about, uh, Al Qaeda in Pakistan or are you talking about other aspects of it?

I don't really think it -- look, it came from a terrorist group. We know there were no -- there was no demonstration. Uh, this was an attack, maybe not well organized, but probably 60 or so people. Uh, they set about burning the facility. They set out shooting and killing our -- four of our people. And for that, they ought to be brought to justice.

BLITZER: Did that anti-Muslim video have any role in this at all?

FEINSTEIN: Well, it will -- it well might have. Uh, it's hard to tell. Uh, but, um, our jurisdiction is the intelligence. And I can tell you that the intelligence was there. It was there for six months and ongoing. And if it was read, uh, it should cause people to understand that this is a place that had had minor attacks, two of them, within the six month period. And there had been other major attacks in the area and that perhaps our ambassador should not have been there.

BLITZER: One final question, an important one. Iraq seems to be engaging, getting involved right now in real chaos, terrorism. It looks like the whole situation is unfolding there, the fighting between Sunnis and Shia.

Is -- what -- what is expected?

You've been briefed, uh, on the situation in Iraq, because I'm worried that everything the U.S. Tried to achieve there, a stable, democratic government, pro-American, is on the verge of collapsing into civil war along the lines of what's going on in Syria.

FEINSTEIN: Well, it's one of the problems that we have. Americans wanted out of Iraq. Americans want out of Afghanistan. We pull out and others fill the void. And many of them are not good people.

Uh, if you look at South Korea, decades after a war, we have over 20,000 troops in South Korea for protection of South Korea. It takes time to make the necessary changes.

And I'm not a big fan of Mr. Maliki. But be that as it may, whether the military is as trained, whether, uh, counter surgents -- insurgency, counterterrorism efforts are as well trained, uh, as they would be if we were still there, I can't -- I don't know.

But it's really a great disappointment to see what has happened. And I think we have to learn from this. I think we have to learn from this with respect to Afghanistan.

When we pull out, what is the Taliban going to do?

Is the Afghan military financially going to be able to survive over the next few decades, even the next decade?

I think these are all questions that, uh, have very difficult answers.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. These are tough, tough the Air Force secretary, Deborah Lee James.

FEINSTEIN: Yes.

BLITZER: If they wouldn't be, they would have been solved a long time ago.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

FEINSTEIN: You're very welcome.

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