Marine Security Guards Protect Classified Documents First, Then Personnel

The Benghazi attacks last year touched off a firestorm of debate around diplomatic security.

While some suggested that Marine Embassy Security Guards (MSGs) could have prevented the attack, the reality is that MSGs have a different mission. As Hillary Clinton told the Senate hearing: Embassy Marines are primarily responsible for the protection and disposal of classified documents in the event of an attack.

Secondary to that, provide the security of and possible egress for American citizens.

Check out the clip below:

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From the official State.gov website: The primary mission of MSGs is to provide internal security services at U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities abroad, to prevent the compromise of classified U.S. Government information and equipment under a range of circumstances, up to and including hostile assaults. Their secondary mission is to provide protection for U.S. citizens and property located within those official U.S. facilities during situations that require urgent action.