Official: 'We Should Have Tried' to Help During Benghazi Attack

A retired military official who served at U.S. Africa Command in Germany during the time of the Benghazi attack says that the United States 'should have tried' to send help to Americans under fire there.

'There are accounts of time, space and capability discussions of the question, could we have gotten there in time to make a difference,' Air Force Brigadier General Robert Lovell (Ret.) told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 'Well, the discussion is not in the 'could or could not' in relation to time, space and capability. The point is we should have tried.'

Lovell also told the panel that U.S. officials knew at the outset of the attack that it was 'hostile action' and not a spontaneous reaction to an anti-Islam video. But as the military weighed its reaction, he said, 'there was a lot of looking to the State Department for what it was that they wanted.'

The hearing before the GOP-led committee comes after the White House denied that a top aide's email sent three days after the attack indicates that the Obama administration aimed to steer attention away from the assault by extremists.

That email from deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, titled 'Prep call with Susan [Rice],' reads in part that one goal of the then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations should be 'to underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader policy failure.'

That email was about 'the overall situation in the region' and not about the Benghazi attack, spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday.

First published May 1 2014, 8:55 AM

Carrie Dann

Carrie Dann is a national political writer for NBCNews.com. She has worked for NBC and NBCNews.com since 2006. Dann writes about politics and Congress. Dann rejoined the web team after 18 months as a campaign reporter for NBC News, covering presidential and vice presidential candidates during the 2012 election. She also covered the 2007-2008 presidential campaign for NBC, including extensive reporting on the Iowa caucuses.Prior to her work at NBCNews.com, Dann was a staff reporter at CongressDaily, where she covered lobbying and government reform.A Virginia native, she now lives in Washington, D.C.