By Wes Bruer, CNN
One of the most wanted terrorists in Yemen. A son of the Haqqani Network founder. A man whose capture was worth $5 million to the FBI: The United States and its allies took out some of these key terror leaders throughout 2012.
Take a look at those top leaders and more who were killed or indicted in the past year:
1. Abu Yahya al-Libi
Al-Libi was second in command of al Qaeda under Ayman al-Zawahiri and a senior leader of the terror group’s external operations against the West. Al-Libi was also an Islamic scholar who appeared in many recruitment videos. The U.S. State Department offered a $1 million reward for his capture. He was killed on June 4 in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.
By Jill Dougherty
Terrorists in Benghazi, Libya, "essentially walked right into the Benghazi compound unimpeded and set it ablaze," a special Senate report on the September 11 attack that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans says.
The bipartisan report, "Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi," released Monday by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, cites "extremely poor security in a threat environment that was 'flashing red.' "
The State Department comes in for the major portion of blame for failing to respond to, even ignoring, repeated requests from U.S. staff in Benghazi for more security resources, especially more personnel.
The department, the report says, left it to Libyan security personnel to protect U.S. diplomats, even though those guards were unreliable and had "conflicting loyalties," a problem that it says was "deeply troubling, especially since this problem was recognized long before the attack."
FULL POST
By Elise Labott
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was treated with blood thinners on Monday at a New York hospital to help dissolve a blood clot in her head and doctors were confident she would make a full recovery.
Clinton was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday due to the clot that was discovered during a follow-up exam related to a concussion she suffered this month, her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said.
The clot was located in the vein between the brain and and the skull behind Clinton's right ear and did not result in any stroke or neurological damage, her doctors said in a statement.
Clinton was treated with blood thinners to help dissolve the clot and would be released once the medication dose had been established, they said.
FULL POST
By Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley
The FBI extensively monitored the Occupy Wall Street movement around the United States, using counterterrorism agents and other resources, according to recently released FBI internal documents.
The heavily redacted documents indicate that FBI counterterrorism agents were in close communication with law enforcement agencies, businesses, universities and other organizations across the country about the Occupy Wall Street movement, even before Occupy Wall Street set up a camp in New York's Zuccotti Park in September 2011.
In August 2011 the FBI informed New York Stock Exchange officials of a "planned Anarchist protest titled Occupy Wall Street" scheduled for September 17, 2011. The FBI also notified several New York businesses of the impending protests, according to the document.
FULL STORY2012 has been a busy year at Security Clearance. From the U.S. diplomatic facility attack in Benghazi, Libya to the Petraeus sex scandal to the future of Afghanistan and the Pentagon preparing(or not) to fall off the fiscal cliff.
But there have been numerous other stories that have caught your eye this year.
Top 10 Security Clearance stories you, the readers, made the most popular in 2012:
10. Navy detects Russian sub off U.S. East Coast
The U.S. Navy detected and tracked a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine less than 300 miles from the southern U.S. East Coast last November, U.S. Defense officials said.
While the submarine did not enter U.S. territorial waters or follow any U.S. Navy ships, its arrival came while a Navy carrier strike group was training off Florida, according to the defense officials.
By Masoud Popalzai
A car bomber hit outside a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing three people and leaving civilians injured, authorities said.
The blast killed a security guard and two truck drivers delivering supplies, according to Abdul Qayoom Baqizoy, the provincial police chief.
Six civilians suffered injuries, he said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred after a minibus stopped at the gate for a security check.
FULL STORY