Benghazi Snap Shot: Failed Department of State Employee Given Security Role

Brandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL with combat deployments to Afghanistan, and Iraq. He was formerly a contributing editor for Military.com, and currently the Editor-in-Chief of SOFREP.com. Brandon is a "New York Times" best selling author with several non-fiction titles completed with his first novel in the works. His last book, "The Red Circle," was a New York Times best seller and his last e-book, "No Easy Op," was an Amazon best seller. This piece was originally published on SOFREP on Jan. 20, 2014.

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Charlene Lamb, cited for failures in leadership from the Department of State’s own Accountability Review Board report, has been promoted to Regional Security Officer. We’ve heard rumor that she’s slated for international duty in Canada. She started the security officer training last week, much to the dismay of many within the State Department.

For those not keeping track, Charlene Lamb was in charge of the office that denied extra security personnel to the U.S. Ambassador in Libya before the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks.

Charlene R. Lamb, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs at the U.S. Department of State, testifies on Capitol Hill on October 10, 2012 in Washington, DC. The hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee focused on the security situation in Benghazi leading up to the September 11 attack that resulted in the assassination of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens.Credit: Getty Images 

The problem, as SOFREP has pointed out before, is not that we have four dead American heroes killed in the line of duty. The world is a dangerous place, and bad stuff happens, we get it. The issue is that nothing was done afterwards to hold people accountable or learn from our mistakes in order to reduce risk to other Americans serving in dangerous places.

Instead we’ve seen a well-run disinformation campaign that has turned Benghazi into a complete mess in the media, and has those that should have been held accountable well seated in their game of political musical chairs in Washington.

SOFREP Department of State Accountability Snap Shot

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was responsible for enforcing a top down policy of “normalcy." By nature this significantly reduced U.S. security posture abroad at all State facilities. Her Chief of Staff also quietly interviewed State Department personnel before they went before the Accountability Review Board for questioning. What was said in those interviews remains unknown. Hillary, in collusion with favorable media outlets, is now prepping the battleground for a 2016 Presidential run.

Undersecretary of Management AKA “Black Dragon” Patrick Kennedy. He is responsible for all Diplomatic Security abroad among other duties. He drove Obama’s/Clinton’s policies. After the Benghazi attack he kept Ambassador Stevens personal laptop and other belongings locked up in his office for approximately thirty days before finally handing it over to the FBI. He is widely disliked by his subordinates, and is a ubiquitous figure when State personnel we’ve interviewed assign blame for what went wrong in Benghazi. Kennedy was also explaining away security failings to the press in 1998 after the US Embassy bombings in Africa. He’s no stranger to the game.

Photo Illustration Courtesy of SOFREP.com 

And now, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs, Charlene Lamb. Here's why she's on our list:

Excerpt from the Senate Benghazi Report (p74 of 85) 

According to Mr. Nordstrom, the previous U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, and his Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Joan Polaschik, traveled to Washington in mid-February 2012 to specifically ask for additional security personnel. 155 in addition to meeting with Ms. Lamb, they met separately with Mr. Kennedy and other senior officials. Yet, when the Libyan mission transmitted its official request for additional security personnel on March 28, 2012, the push back from Ms. Lamb’s office was swift and significant. While the request, which included five temporary duty Diplomatic Security agents in Benghazi, was clearly reasonable, one of Ms. Lamb’s subordinates asked Mr. Nordstrom why the official cable sought “the sun, the moon, and the stars.” When Mr. Nordstrom stated that he did not understand why this was an issue, the response from Ms. Lamb’s office was telling: “Well, you know, this is a political game. You have to not to make us look bad here, that we’re not being responsive.” In a disturbingly prophetic e-mail to DCM Polaschik following this exchange, Mr. Nordstrom wrote:

I doubt we will ever get [Diplomatic Security] to admit in writing what I was told [in] reference [to] Benghazi that OV[International Programs] was directed by Deputy Assistant Secretary Lamb to cap the agents in Benghazi at 3, and force post to hire local drivers. This is apparently a verbal policy only but one which DSIIP/[Near Eastern Affairs] doesn’t plan to violate. I hope that nobody is injured as a result of an incident in Benghazi, since it would be particularly embarrassing to both DS and DAS [Lamb] if it was a result of some sort of game they are playing.

Why is Lamb being appointed as a Regional Security Officer?

This is a gift, State (State Department) is going out of its way to take care of her. They initially wanted to send her to the Hauge but the rumor was out and they thought better because she would have lived in a castle. In addition RSO (Regional Security Officer) Hague is a sensitive position with NATO etc, and our allies would not have approved.

The only way you go to Canada is if you need to be hidden or have a family medical issue that requires you to be close to the U.S. However in this case she is taking a job that is a downstretch. She currently holds the rank of MC (Minister Counselor) or the equivalent of a  2-star and is taking a full colonel position. This is usually reserved for people with hardship issues as State is an up-or-out organization.

Rank and file are [upset]and as one put to me, “it shows that as long as you play by the rules with the black dragons you can actually get someone killed and be rewarded”.

She refuses to leave DS (Diplomatic Security) as she has kids in college and is radioactive. No one in the private sector will give them (the DS 3) a look and [no one came] to the rescue with a willing patsy to take her off states hand with a $200k job. Scott Bultrowicz, former Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary, has told people he would leave in a heart beat but no one will return his calls. He is staying for the pay check.

The fact of the matter is she should be in a closet and not managing any security anywhere.

-Department of State Anonymous Source

Apparently lack of integrity, negligence, and loyalty are all traits Kennedy looks for in rising star subordinates within the State Department. Charlene Lamb should be the last person to be considered for an Regional Security Position position. State’s own Accountability Review Board report proves this. Her selection for this position reeks, and is proof that the State Department under Patrick Kennedy is in worse shape now then it was before we lost four American heroes in Benghazi.

SOFREP believes that the American public still wields tremendous power in this country. When people have historically spoken out in an unpolarized fashion it scares the politicians and their bureaucrat lap dogs. So, continue to hold your local elected representatives accountable, hit them with hard questions based on facts not Internet hearsay, and SOFREP will continue to do our part.

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