Historical record Record 2012-004

2012 World Events · Financial crisis, uprisings, and the cyber-kinetic threshold

Benghazi attack on U.S. mission

Militants attacked U.S. diplomatic and CIA facilities in Benghazi, killing four Americans.

Evidence-led reading

What is stated, why it matters, and what remains uncertain

What this is

A specific-event record selected from the protected World Events source ledger for cross-year research. It is not an exhaustive account of 2012.

Why it matters

It changed diplomatic security planning and became a major U.S. political controversy.

What is established here

The page faithfully exposes the submitted record and its source boundary. No claim-level evidence packet has yet upgraded the record beyond a research starting point.

What remains uncertain

Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.

Record narrative

Source-bounded summary

Militants attacked U.S. diplomatic and CIA facilities in Benghazi, killing four Americans.

Why the ledger includes it

It changed diplomatic security planning and became a major U.S. political controversy.

Structured fields

Record at a glance

Stable record ID
2012-004
Date or period
2012-09-11
Type
Terrorist attack / diplomatic security
Focus
Terrorism / diplomacy
Impact scope
Global
Priority
4 of 5
Location label
Benghazi, Libya
Coordinate precision
City-level coordinate
Actors named by the source record
Ansar al-Sharia-linked militants; U.S. diplomats; CIA security personnel
Verification state
source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification

Geographic context

A coordinate locator, not a surveyed event footprint

The submitted record supplies 32.1167, 20.0667 with the precision label “City-level coordinate.” Multi-location events, disputed borders, campaigns, and broad regions cannot be reduced to one point.

Review location and coordinate boundaries
Global coordinate grid for Benghazi attack on U.S. mission An abstract longitude and latitude grid marking the record coordinate. It is not a political map or a surveyed event boundary.
180°WPrime meridian / equator grid180°E

Source and verification boundary

This remains a starting-point record

Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.

Citation and correction

Use the stable record ID and challenge individual propositions

A correction may concern the date, place, actors, attribution, legal status, figures, coordinate precision, source characterization, or why-pivotal summary without invalidating every other field.

Suggested citation

2IA — International Intelligence Archive. “Benghazi attack on U.S. mission.” World Events record 2012-004. Reviewed July 27, 2026. https://2ix.org/world-events/2012/2012-004/