Former U.S. Army Ranger Kris "Tanto" Paronto, a survivor in the 2012 Benghazi attack in Libya, makes it clear he has no love for politicians.

"Politicians are safe at war because they're watching it on TV or with drones," he told a crowd of about 500 people on Sunday at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe.Paronto was a private security contractor when Benghazi was attacked by terrorists. His local visit was presented by the Lehighton 9/12 Project.He spoke for about 2½ hours, giving great detail of the situation in the Benghazi compound during the attack, including the loss of life of two of his comrades and the serious injuries of several others.He fielded questions from the audience following his talk and said Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state when the attack occurred.The Benghazi attack happened on Sept. 11, 2012, when two U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, were attacked. First, the American diplomatic compound was attacked at 9:40 p.m. resulting in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith.At 4 a.m., the CIA annex was attacked with CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty killed, and 10 people wounded.Paronto said the State Department hired three organizations to defend the complex; two of them terrorist organizations, the speaker said.He said the complex was poorly protected and the personnel there had inadequate weaponry. He said he asked why there were no machine guns in the complex and "was told by leadership - they didn't want to offend the locals by putting a machine gun on the building."Paronto and others were watching the movie "Tropic Thunder" when the attack happened on the diplomatic compound. He said his crew leader had no military experience, "but that's bureaucracy."He expressed concerns to his crew leader, who was "panicking.""We're trained to listen to leadership," he said. "That night we did not have good leadership."He said the consulate had been hit previously but the U.S. took no response. "With no response, all it did was embolden them," he said.Paronto also expressed a deep faith in God, stating that he believes he was protected during the attack. He also confessed that when he returned home, he had some thoughts of suicide."But I have faith and I pray," he said. "And even though I lost my faith, God didn't lose his faith in me."Several instances where Paronto said he miraculously escaped being killed during the Benghazi firefight were related.The speaker told how terrorists fight, going from house to house where families with children are inside, knowing we won't blow up houses with innocent civilians in them."The terrorists use our empathy against us," he said.He proved humorous at times, too, noting that he thought about putting his pants that he wore in Benghazi for sale on eBay, but nobody would buy them for obvious reasons.He was introduced by the Rev. David Reinwald of Wyomissing.Reinwald and his Rocky Mountain Band presented a concert before Paronto's talk, playing a number of patriotic numbers such as "God Bless the

U.S.A.," "America" and "God Bless America."The welcome remarks were given by Sandy Dellicker, president of the Lehighton 9/12 Project.Paronto remained afterward and signed copies of the book "13 Hours," which is an account of the Benghazi attack. Several hundred people stayed for the autographs, during which he also posed for photos with the audience members.