August 8, 2001- Fact Sheet - Overseas Security Improvements

[The Straight Story]

Same day as that presidential daily briefing if I remember right....So overseas we did a lot, but ignored security here.

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
August 8, 2001
2001/632

Fact Sheet

Overseas Security Improvements

Since the East Africa embassy bombings on August 7, 1998, the State
Department has invested over $3 billion on improving systems and facilities
and increasing security staffing to protect personnel and dependents around
the world. Our budget request for Fiscal Year 2002 contains $1.3 billion to
further these efforts. While we will not discuss specific security measures
taken at specific posts, the Department has:

* Improved security at every U.S. diplomatic mission abroad since the
bombings.

* Deployed hundreds of Diplomatic Security Special Agents overseas on
temporary assignment to augment security at our diplomatic missions.
*
* Relocated employees into interim facilites at three posts: Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania; Nairobi, Kenya; and Doha, Qatar.
*
* Began construction at six new, secure facilities: Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania; Nairobi, Kenya; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Istanbul, Turkey; Tunia, Tunisia;
and Zagreb, Croatia.
*
* Acquired additional land for new facilities and to provide
additional setback at many existing posts.
*
* Enhanced the physical security at U.S. missions with additional
barriers, reinforced perimeter walls, bollards, closed circuit TV cameras,
video recording equipment, hardened guard booths, vehicle barriers, bomb
detection equipment, shatter resistant window film, armored vehicles, access
card control systems, walk-through metal detectors, and x-ray equipment.
*
* Installed additional alarm and public address systems at embassies
and consulates to alert personnel to impending emergency situations and have
instituted a program for employees to "duck and cover" when the alarms are
sounded.
*
* Established mandatory inspections of all vehicles entering U.S.
diplomatic facilities.

* Worked closely with host governments to close streets or change
traffic patterns in front of US missions in a number of cities.
*
*
* Worked closely with host governments to increase their security
presence at our facilities worldwide.
*
* Continue our efforts to acquire surrounding properties to increase
setback.
*
* Established surveillance detection teams at almost all of our
diplomatic posts.
*
* Expanded Anti-Terrorism Assistance Training to aid foreign police in
combating terrorism through such programs as surveillance detection, border
security, explosive detection, crisis management, and maritime security.

* Enhanced training for Diplomatic Security Special Agents and
Regional Security Officers to provide them additional instruction on
counter-terrorism methodology, explosive ordinance recognition and disposal,
chemical and biological weapons threats and defenses, and surveillance
detection techniques.
*
* Created a Chemical Biological Weapons countermeasures program based
upon education, training, and equipment. Appropriate equipment has been
distributed to all posts, and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security has
established a comprehensive training program for security professionals and
first responders.

* Strengthened our working relationship with the intelligence
community regarding assessment, investigation, and dissemination of threat
information directed at our posts abroad. Assigned additional State
Department personnel to various intelligence community agencies, including
the CIA Counter Terrorism Task Force, the FBI's International Terrorism
Section, and various FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces.
*
* Hired and trained 518 new Diplomatic Security special agents,
security engineers, security technicians, diplomatic couriers, and civil
servants since the bombings;
*
* Assigned additional security personnel to missions abroad.
Diplomatic Security has assigned 420 special agents to diplomatic missions
in 157 countries.

* Hired more than 4,000 local guards to protect U.S. missions
overseas.
* Increased crisis management training programs overseas. This
training, coupled with crisis management training provided domestically,
helps to ensure that our personnel are fully prepared to respond in future
crisis situations.


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