FOXNews.com: Clinton Denies 'Delay' in Response Night of Terror Attack in Benghazi

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Clinton Denies 'Delay' in Response Night of Terror Attack in Benghazi Jan 23rd 2013, 15:25 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday defended the administration's response the night of the September 2012 terror attack in Libya, testifying before Congress that there were "no delays in decision-making" despite accounts to the contrary.  The secretary, after missing prior hearings due to illness, testified on the attack for the first time Wednesday morning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  She said she has "no higher priority" than the security of her department's staff, and that she is committed to making the department "safer, stronger and more secure."  "As I have said many times, I take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right," Clinton said, later choking up when describing how she greeted the families of the victims when the caskets were returned.   The secretary went on to defend the administration's actions on the night of Sept. 11, when the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi came under fire and four Americans died.  "I directed our response from the State Department and stayed in close contact with officials from across our government and the Libyan government," she said. "No delays in decision-making. No denials of support from Washington or from our military."  Citing the findings of a review panel, she said: "The Board said the response saved American lives in real time -- and it did."    Several accounts relayed to Fox News, though, suggest possible delays in the response.  Fox News has learned from senior U.S. defense officials that a FAST team of Marines out of Spain was asked by State Department officials to change out of their Marine uniforms after being asked to leave for Libya to help -- this required them to deplane and delayed them by about 90 minutes, according to Pentagon officials.  Then there is the decision by Clinton and State Department Undersecretary of Management Patrick Kennedy not to mobilize the Counterterrorism Security Group, which is composed of experts on terrorism from across government agencies and makes recommendations on the response to crises involving terrorism.  Further, there are questions about the perceived delays CIA officials -- stationed in Benghazi -- encountered that night and their frustration that air support was not sent from nearby Sigonella air base. In recent weeks, Fox News has learned that the rescue unit that left Tripoli was told that air support would be above when they landed in Benghazi. It wasn't.    Members of the Special Operations teams sent from Fort Bragg, N.C. and the Commander's In Extremis Force in nearby Croatia also say they were never given permission to enter Libya, even though some were just a short flight away in Europe.  The hearing Wednesday comes amid a broadening threat to U.S. interest across North Africa. There are reports that some of the attackers who took hostages in the deadly raid on an Algeria gas plant may have also participated in the Libya attack.  "Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum," Clinton said Wednesday, without addressing that specific claim.She said instability has created an "expanding safe haven for terrorists" who plot into Algeria and others countries.  The Obama administration has also faced scrutiny about security requests that were denied in the months leading up to the attack. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., top Republican on the Senate committee, lamented "the spiking of the ball and the thinking that when Usama bin laden was gone that was the end of Al Qaeda."  "We know nothing could be further from the truth," he said.  Clinton will testify Wednesday afternoon on the House side.

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