CIA confirms role in US consulate attack in Benghazi President Barack Obama's administration has faced a storm of pre-election questions about why there was not more security at the US consulate where four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed on September 11. The operation, which hit the ground shortly after the start of the February 2011 revolt that overthrew Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was aimed at counterterrorism and securing heavy weapons held by the embattled regime. The Journal suggested that the security lapse may have been due to miscommunication between the CIA and the State Department, with the latter assuming the annex security team was a sufficient backup for its own guards. "They were the cavalry," it quoted a senior US official as saying. The day after the attack, the CIA sent Libyan security officials to the annex to destroy classified documents and sensitive equipment while leaving the charred and ransacked consulate - which by design had contained no classified materials - unattended, The Journal said.