Six U.S. senators continue to push officials in the Obama administration for information related to the 9/11 Benghazi terror attack. In a statement released just before the weekend, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte, Rob Portman, Saxby Chambliss, and Ron Johnson, all Republicans, say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta isn’t revealing why there were not sufficient forces ready to protect endangered Americans.

“Over the past month, we and our colleagues have sent 13 separate letters to senior Administration officials, including President Obama, seeking an explanation for why no U.S. armed forces were available to go to the aid of the four American citizens who died during the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi,” write the senators in a joint statement. “Today, we finally received from the Secretary of Defense the first response to our many letters. Unfortunately, Secretary Panetta’s letter only confirms what we already knew – that there were no forces at a sufficient alert posture in Europe, Africa or the Middle East to provide timely assistance to our fellow citizens in need in Libya. The letter fails to address the most important question – why not?”