As the fire spreads, the Agent with Stevens and Smith attempts to lead them “into the bathroom of the safe haven,” but once there he realizes they did not follow him (“Final Report,” 2016). The Agent escapes the smoke through a bedroom window, and tries to recover Stevens and Smith. Later in the evening, Smith’s body is recovered by Stevens’ is not. A small U.S. and Libyan security team arrives, and after looking for Stevens, they go to the second compound, which goes shortly under attack. There, Navy SEALs turned Central Intelligence Agency contractors, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, are killed. Later, all the Americans leave after the firefights on two flights from Benghazi.  Stevens’ body leaves with them, returned at the airport from a hospital where he was taken by Libyans (Ryan, 2012).

Early on, both journalists and politicians linked the Cairo and other Muslim world protests to the Benghazi attack. A few days later, government officials in Libya say the attack was planned (Ryan, 2012). According to the House Select Committee, only later it would become evident that the attackers came from a mix of terrorist organizations, including “Benghazi-based Ansar al-Sharia” (“Final Report,” 2016).

After the attack became publicized, there was outrage, led especially by Republican government officials, over a lack of security on the compound. However, as one agent present in Benghazi testified, there were roadblocks and “gun trucks” surrounding the compound, prohibiting traffic or any “reaction forces” (“Final Report,” 2016). In the next episode, the question of whether it was it an issue of personnel management or of “security spaces” in the compound will be examined, through the lens of Benghazi as a not permanent diplomatic post and in the context of territorial security measures possible in Libya, as well as the political reactions driving these questions (Mamadouh, 2015).