Republicans are using September's terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi as a springboard to pounce on likely 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for what they describe as missteps in handling the assault and its aftermath, experts say.

In interviews with U.S. media on Monday, key Republicans called for the former Secretary of State to return to Capitol Hill and testify in a hearing about her response to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that counted the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Davis, among those killed.

Clinton is widely viewed as the Democrats' likely choice for the 2016 nomination. The former first lady adored by the U.S. media is the wife of popular ex-president and fundraising powerhouse Bill Clinton, and supporters say she proved her credentials traveling the globe as the face of the country during her four-year stint as Secretary of State.

Republican Strategist Ford O'Connell argued the GOP's push for more information on the Benghazi affair is not purely politically motivated, as there remain many unanswered questions over how the administration handled both the attack and its aftermath.

However, the controversy also serves as a chance for Republicans to begin taking apart the possible 2016 Democratic nominee, O'Connell said.

"(Republicans) are trying to tie to her to Benghazi to knock her down a peg," O'Connell told Xinhua. "To get the right message penetration, (Republicans) have to start now, because she is so popular."

"Part of it is also dinging (U.S. President) Obama and trying to knock his credibility down in terms of making him effective for the rest of his term," he said. "But they see the bigger fish on the horizon is Hillary Clinton."

Others said the controversy is unlikely to hurt Clinton's presidential bid, as it remains four years away.

"A week is a long time in politics," said Sean Gibbons, vice president for communications at Third Way. "A year is forever, and several years is several forevers."

"There's plenty of instances where events occur and things happen that garner bad press and maybe sway public opinion, but they ultimately don't have a major bearing on outcomes," Gibbons told Xinhua.

Indeed, U.S. politicians have faced a number of scandals that they have survived, he noted, from Obama's association with his spiritual mentor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose "God damn America" comments raised eyebrows during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, to 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney's controversial statements that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government for assistance.

Gibbons chalked up GOP attacks on Clinton to partisanship, which has characterized Congress in recent years.

"Anytime people see an opportunity for political advantage, they'll try to maximize it," he said.

Last week, Gregory Hicks, the second-ranking American diplomat in Libya during the assault by terrorists, told a Congressional hearing that U.S. Special Operations Command Africa forbade special forces from flying to Benghazi to fight off the terrorists' assault.

Hicks' account stands in stark contrast to the White House version of events, which holds that all resources were used.

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