According to intelligence sources quoted by Seymour Hersh, in early 2012 the CIA set up in co-operation with Turkey what it called "the Rat Line", a covert operation to obtain and transport, using proxies and front companies, armaments from Libya to rebel groups in Syria via southern Turkey. The CIA's part in the operation reportedly ended as a result of the mass evacuation of CIA operatives from the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after the 2012 Benghazi attack. According to Hersh, the operation was run by David Petraeus, and the CIA could avoid reporting the operation's existence to US Congress intelligence committees since the involvement of Turkey allowed it to be classed as a liaison mission.