Libya Envoy’s Killing Was a Terrorist Attack, the White House Says

By HELENE COOPER, NYT

WASHINGTON — The White House, after more than a week in which it has come under fire from Republicans, is now calling last week’s assault on the American diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, a “terrorist attack.”

“It is self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack,” the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters traveling on Air Force One on Thursday. “Our embassy was attacked violently and the result was four deaths of American officials.”

Also on Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the creation of a panel to investigate the attack. The panel, called an Accountability Review Board, will be led by Thomas R. Pickering, a veteran diplomat and former under secretary of state. The board is authorized by a 1986 law intended to strengthen security at American diplomatic missions.

The assault, which actually occurred at the American consulate, resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including J. Christopher Stevens, the United States ambassador to Libya. American officials have blamed militants who rushed to take advantage of anger over a video made in the United States that denigrated the Prophet Muhammad.

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