U.S. intel chief: On second thought, that Benghazi attack was deliberate and organized

Shawn Turner, spokesman for Clapper’s office, said that in the immediate aftermath of the attack, U.S. agencies came to the view that the Benghazi attack had begun spontaneously after protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo against a short film made in California lampooning the Prophet Mohammad.

Turner said that as U.S. intelligence subsequently learned more about the attack, “we revised our initial assessment to reflect new information indicating that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists.”

He said it remained “unclear” if any individual or specific group commanded the attack. U.S. agencies nonetheless believe that some of the militants involved in the attack were “linked to groups affiliated with, or sympathetic to al-Qaida.”