September 11, 2012
On the anniversary of 9/11, Islamist militants stormed the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, killing Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in hours of sustained attack. The assault exposed the chaos that had engulfed eastern Libya since Gaddafi's fall — the new government had no ability to protect foreign missions or rein in armed groups. In the US, the attack became a political firestorm that dominated the 2012 election and subsequent congressional investigations, fundamentally souring American public opinion on the Libya intervention.
Commanders