Summary

• 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi accurately depicts the time, location, and outcomes of the 2012 attack that killed four Americans.
• The movie avoids political controversy by focusing on the heroic actions of the soldiers on the ground, rather than pointing fingers or promoting conspiracy theories.
• The attacks in Benghazi were not caused by spontaneous protests as initially reported, but were likely a premeditated assault due to the hostile environment in the city.

At the end of 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Jack Silva and the remaining of the CIA's military contractor security team successfully evacuate 25 people from the CIA outpost in Benghazi, but how accurate is the movie's depiction of the real-life event? Directed by Michael Bay, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is based on the book, 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff about the real-life hotly politicized 2012 attack on United States facilities in Benghazi. The movie features performances from John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, James Badge Dale, David Denman, and more.

Following the ousting of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the region quickly destabilized as weapons flooded the black market. Jack Silva (John Krasinski), a private military contractor, s a team of other contractors including Kris 'Tanto' Paronto (Pablo Schreiber), Tyrone 'Rone' Woods (James Badge Dale), Dave 'Boon' Benton (David Denman), John 'Tig' Tiegen (Dominic Fumusa), and Mark 'Oz' Geist (Max Martini) to defend a secret CIA facility in Benghazi operated by "Bob" (David Costabile). When an unexpected attack on United States Government facilities in Benghazi puts Ambassador Chris Stevens (Matt Letscher) in danger, and help doesn't come, the CIA contractors are the only line of defense.

How Accurate is 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi?

How much is actually known about the real Benghazi attack?

What actually happened during the attack on the two United States government locations in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, has been subject to intense debate, so the accuracy of the movie is also subject to debate, but on a high level, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi accurately depicts the time, location, and outcome of the attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, IT officer Sean Smith, and former Navy SEAL CIA contractors Tyrone "Rone" Woods and Glen "Bub" Doherty.

Since many of the details of the United States' involvement in Benghazi was (and still is) classified, the true accuracy is hard to pinpoint. Most of the characters in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi represent known individuals who were involved in the events at Benghazi, but some, particularly John Krasinski's Jack Silva and David Costabile's "Bob" are pseudonyms for real people whose identities haven't been revealed. Kris ‘Tanto’ Paronto, John ‘Tig’ Tiegen, Mark ‘Oz’ Geist were all consultants for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, so the movie at least had input from people who actually lived through the event.

Benghazi Political Controversy Explained

How 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi avoids the hot-button political controversy.

While the movie stays far away from pointing fingers, the name Benghazi is deeply connected to political controversy because it signals a massive failure at some level of government and it happened right before an election in the United States, so it was immediately politicized. Since Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State at the time, and therefore responsible for embassies and diplomatic outposts on a high level, Benghazi was subject to even more scrutiny during her presidential bid in 2016.

Due to the confidential nature of a lot of what happened in Benghazi as well as the polarized discourse surrounding it, the full truth of what happened may never be entirely settled. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is not a political movie and avoids pointing any fingers or stoking any conspiracy theories, instead focusing the story on the heroic actions of the soldiers on the ground.

The most controversial aspects of the Benghazi controversy surround the United States Government denying additional security to the Benghazi outposts in the months leading up to the attack, the denial of backup and lack of during the attack, and the government and media in the United States incorrectly blaming the attacks on spontaneous protests. The movie depicts all of these events from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground in Benghazi, but doesn't point any fingers or angle the narrative to any particular political narrative.

Why The American Government Didn't Provide Backup Or Air

Was a stand-down order really issued?

In one of the first scenes in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Tyrone bluffs about air , but later reveals multiple recent requests for additional had been denied in the weeks and months before the attacks even occurred. Once the attacks start, the CIA team at the base frantically attempt to call in air from numerous bases in the region, but no American help ever comes. One of the biggest problems is highlighted by Tyrone when he arrives back at the CIA annex and tells Bob to "Tell AFRICOM you're calling from that classified base they didn't know existed until an hour ago."

In addition to the fact that none of their nearby allies knew they were there ahead of time, Bob also reveals that they're out of refueling distance for anyone to send a gunship. Despite the slow government response, Glen Doherty, another former Navy SEAL and private military contractor for the CIA who was stationed nearby in Tripoli, quickly acquired transportation on a private jet as soon as he found out about the attack, but then he was held up for hours at the Benghazi airport thanks to Libyan bureaucracy.

What Was The Real Motivation For the Benghazi Attack?

Was it related to spontaneous protests, or a premeditated assault?

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi portrays Benghazi as a heated powder keg from the beginning. After Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was deposed, weapons flooded the streets and gangs began to war for supremacy in Benghazi. The movie includes a scene from five weeks before the attacks occurred where the team is tailed by militants, so it's clear there's suspicion and hostility regarding the United States' presence in the city, although there's no direct confrontation or explicit explanation for what caused the attacks.

When the attacks first received media attention in the United States, it was reported that the attacks spun out of protests related to an anti-Islamic film, a narrative repeated by numerous high-level government officials including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Ambassador Susan Rice, although 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi suggests this isn't the case. Tyrone says "Chief said it was on the news back home. Something about street protests. Anti-Islamic films." and Dave (Demetrius Grosse) responds "We didn't hear any protests." After reaching the airport, Tig (Dominic Fumusa) says the attacks couldn't have been spontaneous: "No way those mortars found us by chance. Had to be set up on us days or weeks ago."