WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department will request billions of dollars in additional funding from Congress to improve security at diplomatic outposts following the September attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Deputy Secretaries of State William Burns and Thomas Nides presented the request during hearings in the House and Senate foreign affairs committees on December 20.
The request includes money for additional Marine deployments, security-related construction, and a 5-percent increase in diplomatic security officials.
A probe released this week described "grossly inadequate" security at the Benghazi mission, where a terrorist attack killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens on September 11.
The State Department has also created a new position to oversee high-threat posts, focusing on U.S. missions in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, several Middle Eastern countries, and others.
Deputy Secretaries of State William Burns and Thomas Nides presented the request during hearings in the House and Senate foreign affairs committees on December 20.
The request includes money for additional Marine deployments, security-related construction, and a 5-percent increase in diplomatic security officials.
A probe released this week described "grossly inadequate" security at the Benghazi mission, where a terrorist attack killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens on September 11.
The State Department has also created a new position to oversee high-threat posts, focusing on U.S. missions in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, several Middle Eastern countries, and others.