U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called on the congress to work with him on budget request, in a bid to boost security for the American diplomatic posts abroad.
"I am intent on making sure that we do everything we can to prevent another tragedy like this from happening," said Obama at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House.
"That's why, at my direction, we've been taking a series of steps that were recommended by the review board after the incident, " he said. "we're not gonna be able to do this alone. We're gonna need Congress as a partner."
Obama therefore called on the congress to work with him to " support and fully fund" his budget request to improve the security of U.S. embassies around the world.
He also asked the congress to provide the "resources and new authorities" in order the fully implement the recommendations made by an independent panel regarding beefing up diplomatic securities.
"We're gonna need Congress' help in terms of increasing the number of our Marine Corps guard who protect our embassies," Obama said.
The Obama administration is under the Republicans' sharp criticism of cover-up in the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi last year.
U.S. officials have defended the administration's handling of the attack, and Obama himself on Monday dismissed his rivals' attack over the talking points as a politically-driven "sideshow". Endi