FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a Libyan man walks in the rubble of the damaged U.S. consulate, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a Libyan man walks in the rubble of the damaged U.S. consulate, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and asserted no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees. 
 
 Debunking a series of persistent allegations hinting at dark conspiracies, the investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria. 
 
 In the immediate aftermath of the attack, intelligence about who carried it out and why was contradictory, the report found. That led Susan Rice, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to inaccurately assert that the attack had evolved from a protest, when in fact there had been no protest. But it was intelligence analysts, not political appointees, who made the wrong call, the committee found. The report did not conclude that Rice or any other government official acted in bad faith or intentionally misled the American people. 
 
 The House Intelligence Committee report was released with little fanfare on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. Many of its findings echo those of six previous investigations by various congressional committees and a State Department panel. The eighth Benghazi investigation is being carried out by a House Select Committee appointed in May. 
 
 The attacks in Benghazi killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and two CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty. A Libyan extremist, Ahmed Abu Khatalla, is facing trial on murder charges after he was captured in Libya and taken to the U.S. 
 
 In the aftermath of the attacks, Republicans criticized the Obama administration and its then-secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is expected to run for president in 2016. People in and out of government have alleged that a CIA response team was ordered to "stand down" after the State Department compound came under attack, that a military rescue was nixed, that officials intentionally downplayed the role of al-Qaida figures in the attack, and that Stevens and the CIA were involved in a secret operation to spirit weapons out of Libya and into the hands of Syrian rebels. None of that is true, according to the House Intelligence Committee report. 
 
 The report did find, however, that the State Department facility where Stevens and Smith were killed was not well-protected, and that State Department security agents knew they could not defend it from a well-armed attack. Previous reports have found that requests for security improvements were not acted upon in Washington. 
 
 "We spent thousands of hours asking questions, poring over documents, reviewing intelligence assessments, reading cables and emails, and held a total of 20 committee events and hearings," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the committee's chairman, and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the ranking Democrat, in a joint statement. 
 
 "We conducted detailed interviews with senior intelligence officials from Benghazi and Tripoli as well as eight security personnel on the ground in Benghazi that night. Based on the testimony and the documents we reviewed, we concluded that all the CIA officers in Benghazi were heroes. Their actions saved lives," they said. 
 
 Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who serves on the intelligence panel and the Benghazi select committee, said, "It's my hope that this report will put to rest many of the questions that have been asked and answered yet again, and that the Benghazi Select Committee will accept these findings and instead focus its attention on the State Department's progress in securing our facilities around the world and standing up our fast response capabilities." 
 
 Some of the harshest charges have been leveled at Rice, now Obama's national security adviser, who represented the Obama administration on Sunday talk shows the weekend after the attack. Rice repeated talking points that wrongly described a protest over a video deemed offensive to Muslims. 
 
 But Rice's comments were based on faulty intelligence from multiple agencies, according to the report. Analysts received 21 reports that a protest occurred in Benghazi, the report said —14 from the Open Source Center, which reviews news reports; one from the CIA; two from the Defense Department; and four from the National Security Agency. 
 
 In the years since, some participants in the attack have said they were motivated by the video. The attackers were a mix of extremists and hangers on, the investigation found. 
 
 "To this day," the report said, "significant intelligence gaps regarding the identities, affiliations and motivations of the attackers remain." 

 Story highlights Declassified version of House Intelligence Committee is released 
 
 It concludes there was no intelligence failure prior to the attack 
 
 Report describes a "flawed" process used to create talking points for Susan Rice 
 
 An investigative report prepared by the House Intelligence Committee finds little to support questions raised about CIA actions on the ground in Benghazi, Libya, the night of a deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound. 
 
 The final report, from Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, and ranking member Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Maryland, concludes there was no intelligence failure prior to the attack, no stand-down order to CIA operatives trying to go assist at the besieged consular building and found conflicting intelligence in the wake of the attack about the motive and cause, which were reflected in early public comments by the administration. 
 
 But the investigation also found the security at the diplomatic outpost was weak and it described a "flawed" process used to create talking points for House Intelligence Committee members and then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, whose public statements after the attack incensed critics who said the administration was avoiding calling the attack terrorism. 
 
 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Attackers set the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on fire on September 11, 2012. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. nationals were killed during the attack. The Obama administration initially thought the attack was carried out by an angry mob responding to a video, made in the United States, that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. But the storming of the mission was later determined to have been a terrorist attack. Hide Caption 1 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Obama and Clinton stand at Andrews Air Force Base as the bodies of the four Americans killed are returned on September 14. Hide Caption 2 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A desk sits inside the burnt U.S. mission on September 13, two days after the attack. Hide Caption 3 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Damage is seen inside the U.S. mission on September 13. Hide Caption 4 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A lounge chair and umbrella float in the swimming pool of the U.S. mission on September 13. Hide Caption 5 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Demonstrators gather in Libya on September 12 to condemn the killers and voice support for the victims. Hide Caption 6 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – U.S. President Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 12, makes a statement at the White House about Stevens' death. Hide Caption 7 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A burnt vehicle is seen at the U.S. mission in Benghazi on September 12. Hide Caption 8 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – People inspect the damage on September 12. Hide Caption 9 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A small American flag is seen in the rubble on September 12. Hide Caption 10 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A man stands in part of a burned-out building of the U.S. mission on September 12. Hide Caption 11 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Smoke and fire damage is evident inside a building on September 12. Hide Caption 12 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Half-burnt debris and ash cover the floor of one of the U.S. mission buildings on September 12. Hide Caption 13 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – The U.S. mission is seen in flames on September 11, the day of the attack. Hide Caption 14 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A protester reacts as the U.S. mission burns on September 11. Hide Caption 15 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames on September 11. Hide Caption 16 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Flames erupt outside of a building on September 11. Hide Caption 17 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle burns during the attack on the U.S. mission on September 11. Hide Caption 18 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Onlookers record the damage from the attack on September 11. Hide Caption 19 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Onlookers walk past a burning truck and building on September 11. Hide Caption 20 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle sits smoldering in flames on September 11. Hide Caption 21 of 22 Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – People duck flames outside a building on September 11. Hide Caption 22 of 22 
 
 The declassified version of the report attempts to knock down other accusations about the Benghazi incident and aftermath, finding no evidence of CIA employees being intimidated from testifying and also no indication the CIA presence in Benghazi was partially to secretly ship arms from Libya to Syria. 
 
 The September 11, 2012, attack left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods dead, and immediately sparked controversy, with Republicans accusing the Obama administration of mishandling the attack and manipulating the talking points used to discuss it for political reasons. 
 
 The intelligence panel, along with several other House committees, spent the past two years interviewing witnesses and examining evidence about the Obama administration's response to the attacks and the related controversy that has been a flashpoint between Republicans and President Barack Obama over his conduct of foreign policy. 
 
 Another House committee, the Select Committee on Benghazi, is conducting its own investigation. 
 
 "The Select Committee on Benghazi received the Intelligence committee's report on the Benghazi terrorist attack (in August), and has reviewed it along with other committee reports and materials as the investigation proceeds," spokesman Jamal D. Ware said in a statement. "It will aid the Select Committee's comprehensive investigation to determine the full facts of what happened in Benghazi, Libya before, during and after the attack and contribute toward our final, definitive accounting of the attack on behalf of Congress." 

 Getty House Intel Committee dismisses some Benghazi myths 
 
 The House Intelligence Committee dismissed on Friday a number of the most persistent myths about the 2012 terrorist attacks at a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi. 
 
 The committee, chaired by Republican Chairman Mike Rogers of Michigan, found the U.S. government didn’t fail to send assistance to the Americans under siege by Islamic militants and there was no “stand down order” from the State Department. The committee also dismissed the notion that there was an “intelligence failure” the allowed the attacks to occur. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 But the committee did rule that a number of individuals involved with Al Qaeda were involved with the attacks and Abu Sufian bin Qumu, a Libyan national, “probably played some role” in the attacks. Qumu was a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay before he was transferred to Libya in 2001. 
 
 “We spent thousands of hours asking questions, poring over documents, reviewing intelligence assessments, reading cables and emails, and held a total of 20 Committee events and hearings. We conducted detailed interviews with senior intelligence officials from Benghazi and Tripoli as well as eight security personnel on the ground in Benghazi that night,” Rogers and Maryland Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the committee said. “Based on the testimony and the documents we reviewed, we concluded that all the CIA officers in Benghazi were heroes. Their actions saved lives.” 
 
 Some Republicans in Congress have continued to cling to initial reports that surfaced after Ambassador Chris Stevens and two others were killed in the attacks. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the White House have been routinely criticized for failing to protect Stevens and for not quickly sending aide to protect the Americans. 
 
 But Rogers’ committee has long said its investigation would disproved those myths. The report, released quietly on a Friday night, dismisses the bulk of the most damning critics against the administration. The report was first reported by the AP. 
 
 Earlier this year, the House established a select committee to investigate the attacks. A spokesperson for the panel said on Friday that Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) would incorporate the Intel Committee’s findings into the Benghazi panel’s work. 
 
 “It will aid the Select Committee’s comprehensive investigation to determine the full facts of what happened in Benghazi, Libya before, during and after the attack and contribute toward our final, definitive accounting of the attack on behalf of Congress,” the spokesperson said. 
 
 The report is likely to spur criticism against the State Department over the shape of its security protocols as the agency knew it was unprepared to defend the outpost in case of a well-organized and heavily armed attack - a high probability in highly volatile region. 
 
 The report said State Department agents felt “ill-equipped and ill-trained to contend with the threat environment in Benghazi.”
– The House Intelligence Committee spent two years investigating conspiracy theories about the 2012 Benghazi attack and has concluded they're mostly just hot air. Here's the takeaway paragraph from the AP: The investigation "determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria." Yes, then UN ambassador Susan Rice wrongly stated that the attacks were the result of a protest against an inflammatory video, but the panel found that Rice had been given bad intelligence and that neither she nor anyone else in the White House deliberately tried to mislead the public. The report further finds no evidence that CIA officers were ordered to "stand down" during the attack or were intimidated afterward to avoid testifying, reports CNN. "We concluded that all the CIA officers in Benghazi were heroes," says Republican panel chairman Mike Rogers and ranking Democrat CA Dutch Ruppersberger. The panel does, however, fault the State Department for having weak security at the US consulate, and Politico expects that criticism to resonate. This is not the end of the Benghazi inquiries: A House select committee appointed in May is still conducting its own investigation.