The Foreign Service Journal, September 2005

Security Threats For the foreseeable future, the security of U.S. diplomatic opera- tions in Iraq will continue to be one of our biggest concerns. The Regional Security Office in Bagh- dad is fully engaged in protecting U.S. diplomatic personnel, secur- ing State Department facilities, and directing overall security for State Department operations throughout the country. Central to our worldwide strat- egy are programs to strengthen security measures at our embassies, consulates and other facilities. DS works hand-in-hand with the State Department’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations in a long-term capital construction security program to replace our most vul- nerable facilities worldwide. To take just one example, DS agents are already on the ground to ensure that the new embassy being constructed in Beijing remains secure. Around the globe, 19 capital construction pro- jects have been completed since 2000, with 36 more pro- jects now under way. OBO plans to award 14 capital con- struction contracts in Fiscal Year 2005, and 12 more the following year. The department plans to replace 131 of its most vulnerable embassies and consulates between 2007 and 2018. DS has also worked closely with OBO to enhance physical and technical security at embassies and consulates; every post has had security enhancements. Since the 1998 East Africa bombings through Fiscal Year 2005, OBO’s Worldwide Security Upgrade and Compound Security Upgrade programs have received $816 million in funding. Sophisticated security equipment adds another layer of protection. Security engineers, assisted by security technicians and U.S. Navy Seabees, research, design and install state-of-the-art electrical and mechanical systems that detect explosives and keep intruders away. They set up architectural barriers outside our buildings and outfit doors and windows to withstand blasts and prevent forced entry. Experts con- stantly monitor and analyze intelli- gence on terrorist activities and security threats around the world. These security measures fortify our official facilities, which histori- cally were the focus of the vast majority of catastrophic attacks and threats. In recent years, however, al-Qaida and other terror groups increasingly are turning to “soft” targets when other more hardened assets prove too difficult to attack. Even before the global al-Qaida threat materialized, we began imple- menting programs overseas to protect and educate our Foreign Service and Civil Service officers, their families and private American citizens on this terrorist threat. These programs are not managed solely by DS but cut across many State Department elements. They continue to be refined. Specifically, over the past seven years, DS has delivered more than 1,500 armored vehicles to posts overseas to safely transport our people serving under heightened threat conditions. We have implemented a comprehensive chemical/biological/radiological protection program. We provide local guards, roving patrols and reaction teams at our residences according to threat ratings, and have upgraded security at more than 13,000 overseas resi- dences. In conjunction with other bureaus in the department, DS also funded grants to increase security at schools attended by children of embassy employees. As of July 2005, $39.5 million was obligated in a four-phase pro- gram for overseas schools security enhancements — including shatter-resistant window film, public address systems, emergency radios as well as perimeter walls, fences, bollards, window grilles and closed circuit televi- sion systems. Security improvements have been funded for schools that receive educational grants from the department, as well as for non-department-assisted schools attended by U.S. government employee depen- dents and other U.S. citizen children. These are just some of the many important security measures that have been implemented. Still, there is much more to do, so DS will continue its concerted push F O C U S 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 5 Richard J. Griffin is assistant secretary for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and director of the Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of ambassador. Prior to assuming that position in June 2005, Griffin was inspector general at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He previously served in the U.S. Secret Service for 26 years, retiring in 1997 as its deputy director. Since the beginning of 2004, 22 DS employees and contractors have lost their lives while working to achieve the mission of the U.S. Department of State.