McCain says Libya strike a 'terrorist' attack, joins others in challenging protest claim Sen. John McCain joined other top lawmakers Friday in claiming that the strike on the U.S. Consulate in eastern Libya was a "terrorist attack" and not just a protest spun out of control. McCain made the comment following an intelligence briefing on Capitol Hill Friday. The Arizona senator said it's hard to know what exactly took place, but stressed that it was not a mob but a calculated act by a small group. The perpetrators, he said, were "terrorists." The comments by the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee come on top of assertions by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers that the strike was coordinated. "It just seemed too organized, too well-structured," Rogers, R-Mich., said again Friday, in an interview with Fox News. He said there was "a high degree of command and control," calling it an "act of terror." Rogers said many factors challenge the claim that the attack was spontaneous. "I get a little suspect when we conveniently sweep it by -- saying, 'Oh it was spontaneous, next question,'" Rogers said. He acknowledged that "might be the end conclusion" but said he's not convinced at this point. The lawmakers were casting heavy doubt on the narrative, which has lived for days, that the attackers were protesting an anti-Islam film in the U.S. That film has been linked to other demonstrations raging across the Middle East and North Africa all week, but Rogers and McCain suggested Libya was an entirely different situation. The Libya strike resulted in the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. The bodies of those killed were returned to the U.S. on Friday, in a ceremony attended by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The president is back in Washington Friday after a week on the campaign trail. He briefed top lawmakers on the situation Thursday and has held a series of phone calls with the leaders of Libya and Egypt. Still, some Republicans have questioned Obama's response, claiming he hasn't shown leadership in this crisis. The Mitt Romney campaign, looking to gain a political edge on the foreign policy front, has taken to calling the administration's handling of the crisis "amateur hour." Meanwhile, the top lawmakers on the Senate homeland security committee wrote a letter Friday to the Office of Inspector General for the State Department requesting an investigation into security measures at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, were the latest officials to express concern about the security protocol at the post. Outside the growing questions in Washington, the Obama campaign has also aggressively defended itself against sustained criticism by the Romney campaign. It slammed Romney's advisers Friday for their earlier "amateur hour" comment, repeating the argument that Romney is improperly politicizing a sensitive situation. Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.