Kerry reinstates four US officials after Benghazi probe

US Secretary of State John Kerry has reinstated four officials, who were suspended after the deadly 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
"The State Department has determined that the four officials who were placed on administrative leave following the independent Benghazi Accountability Review Board's (ARB) report should be reassigned to different positions within the Department, and they will be returning to work," State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said.
"The State Department's own review over the last months reaffirmed the findings of the ARB, that there was no breach of duty by these four employees, and that coupled with our efforts to strengthen security, the right answer for these four was reassignment," she said.

The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 left four people dead, including ambassador Chris Stevens, and led to a political storm between US President Barack Obama's administration and his Republican opponents.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton set up an independent commission that had found serious safety failings in the department and recommended sanctions against the four officials, who were placed on leave without pay.
However, under a decision by Kerry, who replaced Clinton as the top US diplomat on February 1, the four officials can return to work.

Senator Lindsay Graham expressed his disappointment over the decision.

"I am bitterly disappointed that no one has paid a price for the State Department's denying of numerous requests for additional security made by Ambassador Stevens and his team in Libya," Senator Graham said.
"Our compound in Benghazi became a death trap because people in Washington were deaf and blind to their pleas for help. This whitewashing on accountability for the failures of Benghazi will not stand," he said.
Harf said the State Department is focussed on making sure it is doing everything in its power to prevent another tragedy.
"Clearly, we know we can never completely eliminate the risk, but we are firmly committed to making sure we do everything we can to stand by our people in the field," she said.