| Exclusive: GAO report rips State Department's Diplomatic Security Bureau - Monday, December 7, 2009
The State Department is tripling its civilian presence in Afghanistan, which will require a huge increase in the amount of security needed to look after those civilians. But State's bureau in charge of protecting its personnel is already stretched thin and the Afghanistan surge could only exacerbate its administrative and strategic shortfalls, according to a soon-to-be-released GAO report, obtained exclusively by The Cable.
The State Department agreed with the GAO's concerns and responded by saying that Foggy Bottom is examining the issues raised in the report in the context of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). That review is expected in summer or fall of 2010, after most of the new resources for Afghanistan will have already have been deployed.
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| Since 1998, there have been 39 attacks aimed at U.S. Embassies or Consulates or Chief of Mission personnel, not including regular attacks against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad since 2004. The nature of some of these attacks has led Diplomatic Security to adapt its security measures. (See app. IX for a list of attacks.) The December 6, 2004, attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, provides a specific example of how Diplomatic Security adjusts its security procedures. According to State, the attackers gained entry into the U.S. consulate by running through the vehicle access gate. While Diplomatic Security had installed a device to force vehicles to stop for inspection before entering a compound, it did not prevent the attackers from entering the compound by foot once the barrier was lowered. |
