Today's Panetta - Dempsey Congressional Testimony On Benghazi, Sequestration, And Syria -- News Roundup

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify on the Defense Department’s response to the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 2013. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Senate Testimonies of Secretary of Defense Panetta and Joint Chief of Staff General Dempsey On The Attack Of U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, February 2013 -- Council On Foreign Relations

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chief of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 7, 2013, about the September attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya and the response of the Defense Department. Panetta's and Dempsey's prepared remarks and video of the hearing are available on the Committee's website.

Excerpt from Panetta's prepared remarks:

"While DoD does not have primary responsibility for the security of U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world, we work closely with the State Department and support them as requested. In the months prior to the Benghazi attack, we had received several hundred reportson possible threats to American facilities around the world. Over the course of the day on September 11, General Dempsey and I received a number of reports of possible threats to U.S. facilities – including those in Egypt – but there were no reports of imminent threats to U.S. personnel or facilities in Benghazi.

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More News On Today's Testimony From US Defense Secretary Panetta And Joint Chief Of Staff General Dempsey

Republicans challenge Dempsey, Panetta over Benghazi response -- Foreign Policy
Panetta: U.S. military is not global 9-1-1 service -- McClatchy News
Panetta Blames Time, Distance and Lack of Warning for U.S. Military Response to Benghazi Attack -- ABC News
US defense chiefs defend Benghazi response -- AFP
Panetta on Benghazi: We did "everything we could" -- CBS
Panetta, Dempsey defend U.S. response to Benghazi attack -- CNN
Panetta defends military response in Libya attack -- AP
Panetta Defends Pentagon Response to Benghazi Attack -- Voice of America
Senate Republicans Rap Joint Chiefs Chair Over Benghazi -- Defense News
GOP senators assail Gen. Dempsey and Obama for response to Benghazi attack -- NBC News
Military looks to place quick forces after Libya -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
Benghazi Failure: Defense, military chiefs criticized for failure to respond to Benghazi attack -- Washington Free Beacon

White House opposed plan backed by Pentagon, State, CIA to arm Syrian rebels -- CNN
Panetta Says the Pentagon Backed Arming Syrian Rebels -- New York Times
Panetta backs Syria rebels arms plan -- BBC
US defense chiefs backed arming Syria rebels -- AFP
Pentagon leaders: We support plan to arm Syrian rebels -- Christian Science Monitor/Reuters
Pentagon leaders favored arming Syrian rebels -- Washington Post
Panetta Exposes Rift With Obama on Plan to Arm Syrian Rebels -- SFGate/Bloomberg
Panetta: Pentagon backed arming of Syrian opposition -- CBS

Sequestration Already Having a Major Impact, Panetta and Dempsey Say -- Government Executive
Panetta says US at risk of being second-rate power -- Boston.com/AP
Panetta Warns of ‘Crisis’ in Military Readiness -- Time/AP