Security at Libya consulate 'weak,' officer testifies

Associated Press House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., arrives on Capitol Hill on Oct. 10 for a hearing on the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. By NBC News staff and wire services A Special Forces soldier, a former U.S. security officer in Libya and others were testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday in hearings on security at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, at the time of an attack that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. The hearings over whether the Sept. 11 attack could have been averted are expected to sharpen the increasingly partisan and emotional debate over foreign policy in the run-up to national elections. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called the hearings and has accused the State Department of turning aside pleas from its diplomats in Libya to increase security in the months before the attack in Benghazi. "The security in Benghazi was a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there ... Diplomatic security remained weak,'' according to written testimony by Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, who worked as a security officer in Libya before the attack. "The RSO (regional security officer) struggled to obtain additional personnel there (in Benghazi), but was never able to attain the numbers he felt comfortable with," Wood said. Wood served as the security team commander in Libya from Feb. 12 to Aug. 14, until just about a month before the attack on the diplomatic post in Benghazi. Also among the witnesses scheduled for Wednesday is Eric Nordstrom, the former chief security officer for U.S. diplomats in Libya, who told the committee his pleas for more security were ignored. Briefing reporters Tuesday ahead of the hearing, State Department officials were asked about the administration's initial — and since retracted — explanation linking the violence to protests over an American-made anti-Muslim video circulating on the Internet. Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter In a break with other administration officials, the officials said the department never believed the attack was a protest gone awry over a film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, while "others" in the Obama administration initially drew that conclusion. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It was a top administration diplomatic official — U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice — who gave a series of interviews five days after the attack that wrongly described the attack as spontaneous. She said the administration believed the violence was unplanned and that extremists with heavier weapons "hijacked" the protest against the anti-Islamic video. She did qualify her remarks to say that was the best information she had at the time. Rice since has denied trying to mislead Congress. Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com Handling of security and the aftermath of the attack has become an increasingly prominent theme for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other Republican leaders who say they never believed the original explanation. Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are saying that they have been left out of the investigation leading up to today's hearing on the Sept. 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, calling it "completely one-sided and unique." "Chairman Issa is saying this is a bipartisan investigation, and it isn't," a high ranking Democratic aide from the committee told NBC, "I've been here for 13 years and haven't seen a more one-sided investigation." According to Democrats on the committee, they have had no access to documents that Republicans claim to have pertaining to the investigation.  They also say that they have had no access to one of their witnesses, Lt Col Andrew Wood, who is expected to testify that security in Libya was inadequate for embassy staff considering the situation on the ground. The aide said they DID have access to the committee's interview with Eric Nordstrom, who acts as a Regional Security Officer for the State Department, but only because Ranking Member Rep Elijah Cummings (D-MD) assisted with arranging the interview. Cummings was asked last week if he thought the hearing was political, answering "I think it's a lot politics, come on."  He released a statement later saying he supports investigating the attacks in Benghazi, but in a more strategic way.  NBC News staff, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. More content from NBCNews.com: Doping agency claims proof of cheating by cyclist Armstrong Suicide is epidemic for American Indian youth: What more can be done? San Francisco sheriff reinstated despite domestic abuse conviction Video: Rape victim: I was 'shocked' at computer subpoena Florida woman fends off attack from 'Mystery Monkey' Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook