THE ISSUE

It is time to get answers about the deadly terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya.

With the presidential election over, Americans should expect their leaders to focus on the important issues raised by the attack in Benghazi, Libya.

The Sept. 11 attack killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Enough is known about the attack to raise serious questions. Why did the U.S. government fail to provide adequate protection, especially given other attacks in Libya and the Sept. 11 anniversary? Why was the CIA unable to prevent or end the attack?

The Obama administration should answer these questions quickly and honestly, and members of Congress are right to ask them. Someone appears to have made mistakes and people died as a result.

Unfortunately, these real issues are getting buried under a strange conspiracy sideshow that focuses on who said what in the days after the attack. The wrong questions are being asked of people who may bear responsibility, and people who had nothing to do with pre-attack security are being pilloried.

Whatever President Barack Obama, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and others said in the hours after the attack, the basics were clear: Heavily armed men attacked a U.S. embassy intending to kill. Whether the attack was partially motivated by an anti-Islamic film is irrelevant to the question of whether it was terrorism or whether security was too lax.