Leon Panetta Speaks About Benghazi, Reveals Something He Said He Knew From the 'Very Beginning

Former CIA director Leon Panetta said Tuesday that he knew from the "very beginning" that Benghazi was a "terrorist attack on our compound."

Speaking with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell about his new book, Panetta was reacting to a question about why immediately following the assault he didn't think attribute it to a spontaneous demonstration like General David Petraeus.

[sharequote align="center"]"From the very beginning I sensed that this (Benghazi) was an attack, a terrorist attack on our compound."[/sharequote]

"I didn't have any specific information, but the fact was that when you bring grenade launchers to a demonstration, there's something else is going on," he said. "From the very beginning I sensed that this was an attack, a terrorist attack on our compound."

"I remember saying to him look, based on the weapons that I see and the nature of the attack, I think this was a terrorist attack," Panetta continued. "He said, 'Look, the information we are getting from intelligence sources is that it really was a demonstration.' I said. 'You know, David, I don't see it that way. I think we are dealing with what in effect, with a group of terrorists who took advantage of the situation in order to go after our people.'"

(H/T: Real Clear Politics)

—

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter