Former Pentagon General Seeks Commission to Investigate Benghazi Response

A former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence called for a bipartisan commission armed with subpena powers to investigate the Benghazi affair that cost the lives of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin told the Thursday, July 18, meeting of the National Press Club's American Legion Post 20 "there is enough blame to go around in this situation, including the military."

Boykin, former commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, deplored the failure to attempt a U.S. rescue mission to Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012. "We don't leave Americans behind," he said, even if a rescue had proved unsuccessful. He noted that a quick response team was available in Croatia. He said some 600 former special operations members will press Congress to appoint a commission at a rally on Capitol Hill next Tuesday.

Boykin, who retired from the Army in 2007 and is now executive vice president of the Family Research Council, said he was a reluctant supporter of the Patriot Act because of threats the U.S. faced after 9/11 and because he had faith that those implementing its sweeping surveillance provisions would be prudent. But he told Post 20 members that "I was wrong. It needs to stop because it has been abused and it will get worse in the future. I want the whole program to be stopped."