Clinton pins hopes on internal review to answer mounting questions on what went wrong in Libya

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to mounting questions Wednesday about what went wrong in Libya and who's responsible by asking for more time to complete an internal review, saying, "nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves." 

The secretary vowed to get to the bottom of the terror attack that killed four Americans last month in response to a letter by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, claiming the department turned down requests for more security amid a string of attacks and threats in the lead-up to the Sept. 11 strike. 

"No one wants to determine what happened that night in Benghazi more than the president and I do. No one is more committed to ensuring it doesn't happen again, and nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves because we serve with and we knew the four men we lost," Clinton said Wednesday. She did not address the lawmakers' specific allegations. 

As Clinton assured lawmakers that a newly formed "Accountability Review Board" will be getting on the case this week, a U.S. official also confirmed to Fox News that the administration is tracking suspects, though the official could not speculate on what action -- such as drone strikes -- the U.S. could take inside Libya's borders. 

The official claimed some of the militants involved were killed during the Sept. 11 firefight at the U.S. compound in Benghazi. 

Despite the movement, there is still no confirmation that FBI agents dispatched to Libya have arrived in Benghazi. 

And Chaffetz expressed concern that the State Department's findings would be pushed off until "after the election." 

"There are clear signs that (there were) security concerns in Libya and other embassies around the world, and what they were doing is diminishing security in the name of normalizing relations," Chaffetz told Fox News. 

Issa and Chaffetz detailed several attacks in Benghazi in the lead-up to the strike that they suggested should have been warning signs. 

Further, they claimed sources told them that diplomats made "repeated requests" for additional security but were denied. 

New signs also were emerging this week that officials were receiving guidance that the attack was coordinated in the immediate aftermath of the strike despite public comments to the contrary. 

The New York Times, which first reported that the U.S. was tracking suspects, reported that, according to one official, spy agencies were intercepting communications from militant Ansar al-Shariah fighters boasting to someone with an Al Qaeda affiliate. 

Reuters also reported that the Obama administration had "about a dozen" intelligence reports within hours of the attack suggesting Al Qaeda-tied militants were involved. 

Fox News reported last week that intelligence officials were picking up that it was a terror strike within 24 hours. 

Still, top administration officials in the week after the attack insisted it was a "spontaneous" reaction to protests over an anti-Islam film. That film was driving demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa, but lawmakers and others were saying from the start that Libya was a different situation despite the initial claims of the Obama administration. 

Letters obtained exclusively by Fox News also appear to show the State Department refused to get involved when the company tasked with protecting the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, raised security concerns. 

The letters pertained to a dispute between Blue Mountain Libya, the security license holder in Libya, and its operations partner Blue Mountain UK, which trained and provided the local guards. 

A source with knowledge of two State Department meetings -- one in June and a second in July -- told Fox News that Blue Mountain Libya felt the security provided by the UK partner was "substandard and the situation was unworkable." 

But according to the source, when the Libyans tried to bring in a third party -- an American contractor -- to improve security, a State Department contract officer declined to get involved. 

Asked about that letter Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the department's investigation likely would address the issue. 

Fox News' Ed Henry and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

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Clinton suggests Libyan consulate attack was work of Al Qaeda affiliate

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested the deadly consulate attack in Libya involved the Al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa, going further than any other Obama administration official has yet in acknowledging the assault was the work of hardened terrorists.

Clinton was speaking to foreign leaders gathered at a meeting convened by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to address the threat of extremism in the region.

“Now with a larger safe haven and increased freedom to maneuver, terrorists are seeking to extend their reach and their networks in multiple directions,” Clinton told the group, according to a New York Times report. “And they are working with other violent extremists to undermine the democratic transitions under way in North Africa, as we tragically saw in Benghazi.”

It wasn't the first time Clinton had referred to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, as a terrorist attack. But her reference to the group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was notable, especially as President Obama still has yet to publicly refer to the attack as terrorism.

Republicans have pounced on the administration's shifting explanation for the Sept. 11 attack, which left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead. Administration officials initially described it as "spontaneous" violence, possibly related to protests against an anti-Islam film produced in the U.S., but the administration has gradually walked that explanation back while acknowledging the attack was an act of terror.

The White House said Wednesday that Obama, too, considers the deadly assault a terrorist attack. Press Secretary Jay Carney said it is "certainly the case that it is our view as an administration, and the president's view, that it was a terrorist attack."

Carney's comments came after Mitt Romney accused Obama of failing to "level with the American people" about the nature of the attack.

Obama has declined several chances to call the incident a terrorist attack. He said last week that extremists used an anti-Islam video as an excuse to assault U.S. interests, and in an interview this week on ABC's "The View," he would only say that it clearly "wasn't just a mob action."

On Capitol Hill, eight Republicans who head House committees sent a letter to Obama saying they were disturbed by statements from administration officials suggesting that the attack was a protest gone wrong rather than a terrorist attack. They said they would be willing to return to Washington from Congress' nearly two-month recess if the administration scheduled another briefing on Libya.

Clinton and senior Pentagon and intelligence officials briefed members of the House and Senate last Thursday on Libya.

Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the continued threat of terrorism "an inconvenient truth" for Obama, given his re-election campaign's efforts to tout the progress made against Al Qaeda.

“But it is not too much to ask why the president and his administration have taken so long to state what has appeared obvious for a long time about what really happened in Benghazi," the senators said in a joint statement. "This is just one more example of this president's failure to lead in the Middle East and how that failure has threatened America's national security interests. Now is not the time to lead from behind.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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White House pressed on why Obama UN itinerary doesn't include meetings with world leaders

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney faced pressure to explain Monday why President Obama has made no public plans to meet one on one with world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. 

Asked repeatedly at the briefing about the president's plans, Carney said that Obama likely would run into foreign leaders at a reception Monday evening and continues to stay in contact with them. He urged Americans to tune in to the president's U.N. speech on Tuesday. 

"The president's obviously got a busy schedule. He has a busy schedule all the time," Carney said at one point. 

But Carney did not appear to give a direct answer when asked why Obama was able to fit in 13 one-on-one meetings on the sidelines of last year's summit and none this year. Obama instead was letting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton handle the meetings this year while he and first lady Michelle Obama were sitting down Monday for a taping of ABC's "The View" -- sparking criticism that he was putting the election campaign above such issues as Iran's quest for nuclear capability and the violent, deadly protests in the Middle East and North Africa. 

It's still possible that Obama could schedule a last-minute meeting, but none so far have been announced. 

Carney stressed that, amid the violent unrest in the Middle East, Obama recently has had phone conversations with the leaders of Egypt, Libya, Yemen and other nations. 

"The president has had extensive conversations with leaders in the region where there has been unrest of late, he will continue to have those conversations," he said. "He will see leaders from a variety of regions tonight at a reception in New York as part of the General Assembly and will deliver very important remarks tomorrow." 

Clinton was handling the major meetings Monday. The secretary was meeting with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. 

The wave of criticism about Obama allegedly putting his election efforts first began earlier this month with news that the White House had declined a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because the president would be on the campaign trail. 

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has repeatedly accused Obama of "throwing Israel under the bus" and most recently said the president's decision not to meet with Netanyahu was "confusing and troubling." 

White House officials have said such a meeting is perhaps still possible Thursday or Friday. 

Romney backed up his comments Sunday by saying that declining the meeting was a "mistake" -- as Netanyahu looks to the United States for assurance that it will stand tough or draw a "red line" that Iran cannot cross in its efforts to build a nuclear weapon. 

"It sends a message throughout the Middle East that somehow we distance ourselves from our friends," Romney said in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview. 

The president -- in a separate interview for the show -- said he talks with Netanyahu "all the time." 

"I understand and share Prime Minister Netanyahu's insistence that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon because it would threaten us, it would threaten Israel and it would threaten the world and kick off a nuclear arms race," Obama said. 

Carney noted Monday that Obama and Netanyahu recently spoke by phone for over an hour.

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Panetta says protests in Middle East will continue, but violence is leveling off

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT –  U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the turmoil raging across the Muslim world is likely to continue into the days ahead, but he says the violence expected by the U.S. appears to be leveling off.

He said the Pentagon has "deployed our forces to a number of areas in the region to be prepared to respond to any requests that we receive to be able to protect our personnel and our American property."

He declined to provide more details on reports that the military may be moving additional military forces so they can respond to unrest in any of a number of regions of concern.

"I think our approach right now is to not do anything until we've been requested to do it by the State Department," Panetta told reporters traveling with him to Asia. But he noted that, "I think that we have to continue to be very vigilant because I suspect that ... these demonstrations are likely to continue over the next few days, if not longer."

Protests by furious Muslims erupted in countries around the world in recent days, with some spawning violence and even deaths over an anti-Islam video shot in California that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad. In places like Libya, Sudan and Tunisia, protesters stormed U.S. embassies, and an American fast food restaurant was burned in Lebanon.

In response, the Pentagon dispatched elite Marine rapid response teams to Libya and Yemen, but a team deployed to Khartoum on Friday was turned back when the Sudanese government objected.

Asked about Sudan's decision, Panetta said host countries have the right to reject such military deployments.

"My understanding is that they felt that they could provide sufficient security to be able to protect our embassy and our personnel there," said Panetta. "And you know, in many ways, as all of you know the primary responsibility for protecting embassies rests with the host country."

Known as a fleet antiterrorism security teams, the units were sent in response to violent protests in Khartoum where protesters tried to climb the walls of the U.S. Embassy, setting off a battle with police.

The Navy also moved two warships to positions off the coast of Libya. The two destroyers are largely meant as a show of force, but they carry Tomahawk missiles and can also be available for evacuations or other missions as needed.

The intensity of the anti-American fervor initially caught U.S. leaders by surprise, but in the last several days the Obama administration has deployed military units to shore up security in hotspots, and used diplomacy to call for calm and urge foreign governments to protect American interests in their countries.

It also has been unclear how much of the violence was spontaneously triggered by the film and how much of it was spurred on by anti-American militants using it as a tool to grow and enrage the crowds.

The Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen praised the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Libya in an online statement Saturday and called for more attacks to expel American embassies from Muslim nations.

Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, was killed Tuesday along with three other Americans, as violent protesters stormed the consulate in Benghazi. President Barack Obama has vowed that the attackers would be brought to justice, but has also stressed that the U.S. respects religious freedom.

The protests were set off by a low-budget, crudely produced film called "Innocence of Muslims," which portrays Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester. A 14-minute excerpt of the film, which is both in English and dubbed into Arabic, has been available on YouTube, although some countries have cut access to the site.

Panetta was traveling to Asia, where he will visit Japan, China and New Zealand.

His visit comes amid escalating tensions in the region including tussles over several disputed islands in the East China Sea. It is Panetta's third trip to the region in the last 11 months, reflecting the Pentagon's ongoing effort to put a greater military focus on the Pacific region.

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Feds: Sebelius violated federal law by campaigning for Obama

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated federal law when she campaigned this winter for President Obama, federal investigators announced Wednesday.

Sebelius broke the law by making “extemporaneous partisan remarks” during a speech in February at a Human Rights Campaign Event in Charlotte, N.C., according to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). She made the comments in the city that would later host the Democratic National Convention.

"One of the imperatives is to make sure that we not only come together here in Charlotte to present the nomination to the president, but we make sure that in November, he continues to be president for another four years," Sebelius said, according to the agency and reported first by The Hill newspaper.

The agency said Sebelius’ comments violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits public officials from campaigning in an official capacity.

The agency said the Department of Health and Human Services after the event reclassified the trip from official to political and that the federal government was reimbursed for related costs.

However, the OSC still concluded Sebelius had violated federal law and has sent the report to the president -- the procedure for a government official appointed by a president and confirmed by the Senate.

OSC spokeswoman Ann O’Hanlon said there is no formal rule for dealing with an appointed official in violation of the act. However, the agency investigates at least 100 cases such cases annually with “a great majority” of them being resolved internally and violators getting a suspension.

O'Hanlon said the remaining cases are sent to the Merit System Protection Board, which can decide to terminate the employment of non-appointed federal employees or give them a 30-day suspension.

Still, Maureen Ferguson and Ashley McGuire of the Catholic Association are calling for Sebelius’ resignation. 

“Throughout her tenure at Health and Human Services, most of Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' actions have advanced the president's political interests,” they said in a joint statement.

Sebelius could not be reached late Wednesday afternoon, but her response to the findings is supposed to be in the report forwarded to the  president.

She also discussed state politics in the Feb. 25 speech, urging voters to defeat a ballot proposal opposing gay marriage and to elect a Democratic governor, according to The Hill.

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Russia rejects US' calls for pressure on Syria, Iran

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia –  Russia on Saturday soundly rejected U.S. calls for increased pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to relinquish power. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to prod Moscow into supporting U.N. action to end the crisis in Syria and she expressed hope that Congress would repeal Cold War-era trade restrictions on Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, after meeting Clinton on the sidelines of a meeting of Pacific Rim leaders, told reporters that Moscow is opposed to U.S.-backed penalties against the Assad government, in addition to new ones against Iran over its nuclear program, because they harm Russian commercial interests.

"Our American partners have a prevailing tendency to threaten and increase pressure, adopt ever more sanctions against Syria and against Iran," Lavrov said. "Russia is fundamentally against this, since for resolving problems you have to engage the countries you are having issues with and not isolate them."

"Unilateral U.S. sanctions against Syria and Iran increasingly take on an extraterritorial character, directly affecting the interests of Russian business, in particular banks," he said. "We clearly stated that this was unacceptable, and they listened to us. What the result will be, I don't know."

Clinton, who also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Vladivostok, had urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition to the penalties, particularly against Syria in order to convince Assad that he should agree to a political transition, according to a senior U.S. official.

Clinton told her Russian counterpart that the Security Council needed to do more to send "a strong message" to Assad, given the escalating level of violence in Syria, said the official, who was present during the meeting. Clinton made clear to Lavrov that the Security Council risks "abrogating its responsibility" if it fails to act.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversation was private.

Russia and China have blocked three Security Council resolutions that would have punished Syria if the Assad government did not accept a negotiated political transition. Clinton said in Beijing this past week that the U.S. was "disappointed" by the vetoes.

She had earlier called the actions "appalling" and said they put Russia and China on the "wrong side of history." That assertion was rejected by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at a news conference with Clinton on Wednesday, when Yang said history would prove China's position to be correct.

On Saturday, Lavrov said Russia's opposition to penalizing Syria was based on the premise that "they don't achieve anything."

The question of sanctions against Syria and Iran will be a main topic of conversation among officials later this month at the U.N. General Assembly, and the U.S. official said Clinton had discussed both with Putin during dinner in Vladivostok.

Clinton, who's in Russia's Far East representing President Barack Obama at the APEC summit, also discussed with Putin topics including wildlife conservation, the upcoming winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and bilateral trade and investment, the official said.

Despite Russia's refusal to join the U.S. and its allies in seeking more pressure against Syria and Iran, Clinton told business leaders at the APEC meeting that the Obama administration wants Congress to repeal a 1974 law that denies Russia normal trade relations with the U.S because of Soviet-era laws restricting the emigration of Jews.

Now that Russia has joined the World Trade Organization, Clinton said the Obama administration is "working closely" with lawmakers on that issue and hopes that "Congress will pass on this important piece of legislation this month."

At the same time, Washington is looking for Russia to play a greater role in the Asia-Pacific region as the U.S. tries to quell growing maritime tensions.

Territorial disputes, including between U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, sparked by nationalist rhetoric have fueled fears of conflict.

Clinton has spent the last week in the region urging peaceful resolutions to competing territorial claims between China and its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea. The U.S. wants to see the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China establish quickly a code of conduct for the area to be followed by a mechanism to resolve the conflicts peacefully without intimidation, coercion or clashes.

She began Saturday by signing an agreement with Lavrov that will enhance U.S.-Russia scientific cooperation in the Antarctic, as well as link national parks on either side of the Bering Strait.

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