Panetta said he didn't have advance notice of the attack. Huh?

No advance notice? What the heck? Do jihadists now have to let our State Department know ahead of time that they’re going to attack us? How much time does he want-24, 48 hours or more than that?

Dumb statements coming from the SOS, President, Biden, Rice, and now Panetta. Seems like our government is made up of some officials lacking any sense.

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the U.S. military "did everything they were in position to do" about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.

In a letter and timeline sent to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Panetta said the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate and nearby annex in Benghazi were over before U.S. forces could arrive.

In the meantime, he said, the Defense Department diverted a nearby unarmed, unmanned drone to the consulate and dispatched special operations forces from Europe and the United States.

"The department's senior leaders and I spared no effort to save the lives of our American colleagues, as we worked to bolster security in response to a series of other threats in the region occurring at the same time," Panetta said.

Still, it's unclear whether Panetta's explanation and timeline will satisfy members of Congress who continue to press the administration for more details and transparency about the attack.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a closed hearing on the attack and its aftermath on Wednesday, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is convening another one on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told POLITICO Friday his panel will continue its investigation of the attack.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will also continue "to investigate the Benghazi tragedy and the events that led up to it," said Becca Watkins, a spokeswoman for committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

In his letter, Panetta said he wanted to specifically address the question of why no armed U.S. aircraft were used to stop the attack.

"Armed UAVs, AC-130 gunships, or fixed-wing fighters with the associated tanking, armaments, targeting and support capabilities were not in the vicinity of Libya nor postured to an effective operational option during the timeframe of this attack," he said.

The Pentagon timeline includes no information on the activities of the State Department or the CIA.

Leading up to Sept. 11, U.S. military forces were positioned throughout Europe and the Middle East to respond to a variety of contingencies, Panetta said. As Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey has noted, "It was 9/11 everywhere in the world," on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Several hundred reports had been received about threats to U.S. facilities around the world, Panetta said.

In the Middle East and North Africa, U.S. facilities in more than 16 countries were operating under a heightened force protection level, Panetta said.

But, he made clear, "We had no advanced notice that threats to U.S. personnel or facilities in Benghazi were imminent."