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By Raf Sanchez, Washington
Security at the lightly-guarded diplomatic site was “weak†despite repeated requests for more protection in the months before the raid that killed the US ambassador to Libya, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Wood told a Congressional committee.
His said his special forces troops, who were assigned to protect American diplomats in Libya, were withdrawn weeks before the attack and that Washington ignored warnings that the consulate was vulnerable.
 The Obama administration has been criticised for its handling of the assault but also its changing description of the cause of the attacks after initially claiming that the killings the result of an out-of-control protest against an anti-Islamic film.
State Department officials said there had been no protest outside of the consulate on the night of the attack, flatly contradicting claims initially made by Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the UN, that a peaceful demonstration had been “hijacked†by militants.
When asked about the contradicting accounts, a senior State Department official said that “others” in the US government had claimed there were protests but “that was not our conclusion”.
Lt Col Wood said the US consulate had remained lightly guarded even after the Britain and the Red Cross had withdrawn from the city out of safety concerns. “I almost expected the attack to come. We were the last flag flying, it was a matter of time,” he said.
Much of the Congressional hearing focused on the 16-man Site Security Team (SST) led by Lt Col Wood and the decision to withdraw it from Libya a month before the attacks.
Both the military officer and Eric Nordstrom, the former head of security for the US mission to Libya, said they had been repeatedly frustrated or ignored as they tried to convince superiors in Washington that the special forces team should remain in place.
“We were fighting a losing battle,” Lt Col Wood said. “We couldn’t even keep what we had.”
Mr Nordstrom said he asked for a team of 12 diplomatic security agents to replace the commandos and was told “you’re asking for the sun, the moon and the stars” as his request was denied.
“For me the Taliban was inside the building,” he said, describing his battle against bureaucracy at the State Department’s Washington headquarters.
Charlene Lamb, a senior State Department official with responsibility for diplomatic security, said that the SST had been adequately replaced with a combination of American security agents and local Libyan guards.
“We had the correct number of assets in Benghazi at the time of 9/11 for what had been agreed upon,†she said.
Congressman Darrell Issa, the committee’s Republican chair, angrily replied: “To start off by saying you had the correct number when our ambassador and three other individuals are dead… somehow doesn’t seem to ring true to the American people.â€
Mr Nordstrom said he had been ordered to “reduce security resources in accordance with an artificial timetable” and that Washington ignored a list of more than 200 security incidents in Libya, including 48 in Benghazi, that he submitted as evidence of the volatility of the situation on the ground.
Congressman Dennis Ross, a Republican, said the decision to keep security at a minimal level was the “result of political pressure trumping professional protocol” and the State Department’s eagerness to make Libya appear safer than it was.
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, the State Department’s Undersecretary for Management, angrily denied the charge and said that it was vital for US diplomats to be posted in countries even if there was an element of danger.
“This is an inherently risky operation,” he said. “We can’t always withdraw to fortresses”
The hearing in Washington came as John Brennan, the White House’s chief counter-terrorism adviser, visited Tripoli to urge the Libyan government to take swift action against the militants responsible for the Benghazi attack
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