Benghazi Breakdown

Get the facts about what’s at stake in the Libya fallout.

Rice Under Pressure   - Republican lawmakers are taking aim at U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and the talking points she used to explain the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Get the facts about what went down and what’s at stake for Rice and the Obama administration. — Naeesa Aziz (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Rice Under Pressure - Republican lawmakers are taking aim at U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and the talking points she used to explain the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Get the facts about what went down and what’s at stake for Rice and the Obama administration. — Naeesa Aziz (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Apology Not Accepted - Admitting that she misled the American people on Benghazi, Rice met with a cohort of her biggest critics including Sen. John McCain in an attempt to smooth things over, but the gesture failed to ease the mounting tension.  (Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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Apology Not Accepted - Admitting that she misled the American people on Benghazi, Rice met with a cohort of her biggest critics including Sen. John McCain in an attempt to smooth things over, but the gesture failed to ease the mounting tension.  (Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

What Set Off the Violence? - After a movie by Israeli-American filmmaker Sam Bacile was translated into Arabic, news of its controversial message spread quickly over the Internet and sparked extreme anger. The film depicts Islam's Prophet Muhammad having sex, talking about killing children and refers to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal." (Photo: REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori)

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What Happened on Sept. 11, 2012? - On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, anti-American violence erupted in Cairo and Benghazi. In Benghazi, four Americans were killed including U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens when armed protesters launched a full-scale attack on a U.S. consulate building. (Photo: REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori)

Republicans Exploit Benghazi, Libya, Attack - After a tragic attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, left four Americans dead, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and other Republicans launched into an unseemly and misdirected attack against President Obama and his U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. Unfortunately, Rice withdrew her name  from consideration to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Meanwhile, Gen. David Petraeus, caught up in a sex scandal that forced him to resign from the CIA, escaped culpability for the CIA's intelligence failure in Benghazi.  (Photo: Reuters/Esam Al-Fetori)

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So, Why Is Rice in Hot Water? - Following Rice’s message that the attacks were spontaneous, it was brought to light that the Obama administration had intelligence information that showed the attack was a premeditated act of terrorism by al-Qaeda linked militants. (Photo: REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori)

New Doubts Cast - "And what troubles me so much is that the Benghazi attacks echoes the attacks on those embassies in 1998 when Susan Rice was head of the African region for our State Department.… She had to be aware of the general threat assessment and of the ambassadors’ request for more security,” said Sen. Susan Collins.(Photo: AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

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New Doubts Cast - "And what troubles me so much is that the Benghazi attacks echoes the attacks on those embassies in 1998 when Susan Rice was head of the African region for our State Department.… She had to be aware of the general threat assessment and of the ambassadors’ request for more security,” said Sen. Susan Collins.(Photo: AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

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What Was the Government’s Initial Response to the Attacks? - Immediately following the attack, President Obama expressed sympathy for the loss of American life and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice stood in for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on several U.S. news programs. She described the attack as a spontaneous protest incited by an anti-Islamic movie called The Innocence of Muslims.  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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What Was the Government’s Initial Response to the Attacks? - Immediately following the attack, President Obama expressed sympathy for the loss of American life and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice stood in for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on several U.S. news programs. She described the attack as a spontaneous protest incited by an anti-Islamic movie called The Innocence of Muslims.  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Innocence of Muslims (2011) - From Innocence of Muslims to Bowling for Columbine, BET.com takes a look back at films that touched on controversial topics and spurred public opinion. – Britt MiddletonThe anti-Islamic film, directed and written by American filmmaker Sam Bacile, allegedly portrays Muhammad, Islam's most holy figure, "as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres," writes the Associated Press. After a trailer of the film was posted on YouTube and translated into Arabic recently, angry protesters attacked U.S. embassies in Cairo and Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans were killed on Sept. 11, 2012.     (Photo: YouTube)

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What Was the Offensive Movie About? - The Innocence of Muslims was a low-budget film directed and written by American filmmaker Sam Bacile. It portrayed the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's most holy figure, as a fraud and a womanizer.(Photo: YouTube)

How Did Rice Explain the Discrepancy? - Rice continues to defend her message, saying that she informed the public with the most accurate and unclassified intelligence she could share at the time. She claimed that the attack started as a protest and was “hijacked” by more militant forces.(Photo: AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

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How Did Rice Explain the Discrepancy? - Rice continues to defend her message, saying that she informed the public with the most accurate and unclassified intelligence she could share at the time. She claimed that the attack started as a protest and was “hijacked” by more militant forces.(Photo: AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

What Role Does Former CIA Director David Petraeus Play? - Former CIA Director David Petraeus cast more doubt on Rice and the Obama administration when he testified before the House and Senate intelligence committees on Friday, Nov. 16. Although early classified reports appeared to support Rice's statement that the attack grew out of a protest, he believed “almost immediately” that the Sept. 11 assault was an organized terrorist attack. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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What Role Does Former CIA Director David Petraeus Play? - Former CIA Director David Petraeus cast more doubt on Rice and the Obama administration when he testified before the House and Senate intelligence committees on Friday, Nov. 16. Although early classified reports appeared to support Rice's statement that the attack grew out of a protest, he believed “almost immediately” that the Sept. 11 assault was an organized terrorist attack. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Who Is Leading the Charge Against Rice? - Republican Sen. John McCain has been one of Rice’s most vocal detractors, commenting that he will seek to block her confirmation as Secretary of State if she is nominated during President Obama’s next term in office.  (Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Who Is Leading the Charge Against Rice? - Republican Sen. John McCain has been one of Rice’s most vocal detractors, commenting that he will seek to block her confirmation as Secretary of State if she is nominated during President Obama’s next term in office.  (Photo: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Will Hillary Clinton Help? - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify before the House foreign affairs committee after the State Department concludes an internal review in December.  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Will Hillary Clinton Help? - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify before the House foreign affairs committee after the State Department concludes an internal review in December.  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

What’s Next? - Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein is leading the charge of an investigation into the discrepancies between what the intelligence community knew and what President Obama, Rice and other top administration officials were instructed to say. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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What’s Next? - Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein is leading the charge of an investigation into the discrepancies between what the intelligence community knew and what President Obama, Rice and other top administration officials were instructed to say. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)