State Dept. downgraded security in Libya before deadly attack, ex-officer claims The situation remained uncertain and reports from some Libyans indicated it was getting worse. Diplomatic security remained weak," Wood's testimony said. The session, titled "Security Failures of Benghazi," included sharp accusations from Republicans that the State Department was more interested in presenting a picture of an improving situation in Libya than in ensuring the safety of its staff there. In an opening statement shortly after the hearing began at midday, the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), charged that House Republicans last year cut the Obama administration's request for diplomatic security funding by hundreds of millions of dollars. He said the Senate restored some of the funding but that it remains far below the administration's request. Cummings called on House GOP leaders to support a supplemental funding bill to restore diplomatic security resources. In other prepared testimony, Charlene Lamb, a deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for security at more than 275 U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world, provided a detailed account of the Sept. 11 attack on the post in Benghazi. Dozens of attackers "launched a full-scale assault that was unprecedented in its size and intensity," she said. "Determining the right level of security for each one [of the 275 facilities] is an intensive, ongoing, constantly evolving process," Lamb said. Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, in separate prepared testimony, defended Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, from intense Republican criticism of her initial account of the attack. Rice at first said the attack apparently resulted from a protest over an anti-Islamic video that spun out of control. "The information she had at that point from the intelligence community is the same that I had at that point," Kennedy said. As time went on, additional information became available. Shortly before the hearing began, the White House announced that John O. Brennan, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, met in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Wednesday with senior officials, including the Libyan president, and "discussed the continuing investigation into the Benghazi attacks, including specific additional steps Libya can take to better assist the U.S. in ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to justice." Brennan "urged Libya to take full and timely advantage of specific offers of assistance from the United States and other international partners," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said. Wood, a Utah National Guard soldier, served in Libya from February to August. He worked closely with Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who was among four Americans killed during armed sieges of two U.S. diplomatic compounds in Benghazi last month. There was a single Diplomatic Security offer stationed in Benghazi in April, Wood said, and the top State Department security officer for Libya "struggled to obtain additional personnel there but was never able to attain the numbers he felt comfortable with." Wood said that the White House National Security Council had detailed a 16-member Site Security Team to Libya early last year to help protect diplomats as the fragile Libyan government got organized. Wood was its leader. The State Department refused to extend the team's mandate past Aug. 5, he said, and military members either left the country or were moved into different roles. The top State Department security officer for Libya during most of Wood's time there, Eric A. Nordstrom, separately told the committee that he requested that the team be extended through September or October, but that the request was denied. Wood volunteered to testify as a whistleblower, although he said he is aware there may be consequences for his career. Nordstrom will also testify at the request of the Republican-led committee. Republicans released a State Department compilation of more than 200 security incidents or threats across Libya between June 2011 and July 2012. Nordstrom had told the committee in an e-mail that the Libyan government was "overwhelmed" and unable to guarantee diplomats" safety. "The environment in Libya was fragile at best and could degrade quickly," Nordstrom wrote. "Certainly not an environment where [the Benghazi] post should be directed to "normalize" operations and reduce security resources in accordance with an artificial timetable." Committee Democrats charged Tuesday that Republicans had hidden witnesses and withheld testimony ahead of the hearing.