An independent report about the September 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi said U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens made the decision to travel to Benghazi "independently of Washington, per standard practice." The timing was affected by commitments in Tripoli and a staffing gap between principal officers in Benghazi, the report said. Plans for Stevens' trip "provided for minimal close protection security support and were not shared thoroughly" with the embassy's Libya team, it said. "The ambassador did not see a direct threat of an attack of this nature and scale on the U.S. Mission in the overall negative trendline of security incidents from spring to summer 2012. His status as the leading U.S. government advocate on Libya policy, and his expertise on Benghazi in particular, caused Washington to give unusual deference to his judgments."