US officials strike back at reports on Benghazi attacks

Ibrahim Alaguri | AP

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, a man looks at documents at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The graffiti reads, "no God but God," " God is great," and "Muhammad is the Prophet." Witness accounts gathered by The Associated Press give a from-the-ground perspective for the sharply partisan debate in the U.S. over the deadly incident. They corroborate the conclusion largely reached by American officials that it was a planned militant assault. But they also suggest the militants may have used a film controversy as a cover for the attack. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri)

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Ibrahim Alaguri | AP

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, Libyans walk on the grounds of the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack the previous day that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Witness accounts gathered by The Associated Press give a from-the-ground perspective for the sharply partisan debate in the U.S. over the deadly incident. They corroborate the conclusion largely reached by American officials that it was a planned militant assault. But they also suggest the militants may have used a film controversy as a cover for the attack. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri)

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Carolyn Kaster | AP

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, gestures during their joint news conference at the Pentagon, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Panetta said the U.S. military did not intervene during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya last month because it was over before the U.S. has sufficient information on which to act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Mohammad Hannon | AP

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a Libyan man investigates the inside of the U.S. Consulate after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. Witness accounts gathered by The Associated Press give a from-the-ground perspective for the sharply partisan debate in the U.S. over the deadly incident. They corroborate the conclusion largely reached by American officials that it was a planned militant assault. But they also suggest the militants may have used a film controversy as a cover for the attack. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

WASHINGTON — Just days before the presidential election, U.S. officials are striking back at allegations they failed to respond quickly or efficiently against the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, detailing for the first time a broad CIA rescue effort. Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday that CIA security officers went to the aid of State Department staff less than 25 minutes after they got the first call for help from the consulate, which was less than a mile from a CIA annex. The detailed timeline provides the first in-depth look at how deeply the CIA was …