No “Stand Down” Order in Benghazi

WASHINGTON (AP) — The testimony of nine military officers undermines claims by Republican lawmakers that a "stand-down order" held back military assets that could have saved the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans who were killed in Benghazi, Libya.

The "stand-down" theory centers on a Special Operations team of four — a detachment leader, a medic, a communications expert and a weapons operator with his foot in a cast. They were stopped from flying from Tripoli to Benghazi after the attacks had ended.

Instead, they were instructed to help protect and care for those being evacuated from Benghazi and from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.

The senior military officer who issued the instruction and the detachment leader who received it say it was the right decision.