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              US Boosts Diplomatic Security After Benghazi Attack

   by Michael Lipin

   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says last year's deadly attack
   on the U.S. mission in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi has prompted
   her to take urgent steps to improve security at diplomatic posts
   worldwide.
   But some American diplomats worry that new security rules ordered by
   Washington also could make it harder for their counterparts to do their
   jobs.
   In the Benghazi attack, suspected Al-Qaida militants raided several
   U.S. compounds on September 11, 2012, killing four Americans, including
   the U.S. ambassador.
   Earlier that day, anti-American protesters stormed the U.S. embassy in
   Cairo, angered by a U.S.-made film about the Prophet Muhammad. Yemenis
   offended by that film also broke into the U.S. embassy compound in
   Sana'a.
   Deploying more Marines
   At a Senate hearing Wednesday, Secretary Clinton said she has responded
   to those incidents by asking for hundreds of additional Marine security
   guards to be sent to vulnerable diplomatic posts.
   She said she also appointed an official to the new position of deputy
   assistant secretary of state for high threat posts, with responsibility
   for giving missions in dangerous places "the attention they need."
   Clinton said she has designated more than 20 U.S. missions around the
   world as high-risk sites requiring tighter security.  But she said
   their locations are classified.
   A labor union that represents American diplomats told VOA that sending
   more Marines to guard high-risk missions is a positive step.
   American Foreign Service Association President Susan Johnson said many
   U.S. consulates and some embassies have had to operate without any
   Marines.
   "Marines are there principally to guard and secure premises rather than
   offer personal protection," she said. "Nonetheless, having them there
   in an emergency can also buy you time and can certainly help you to
   prevail or escape or minimize the damage, so we welcome that. But the
   Marines are not out there yet."
   Seeking congressional help
   Secretary Clinton also said she needs congressional support to
   implement security recommendations made by an independent panel that
   investigated the Benghazi attack. She urged lawmakers to give her the
   authority to use some existing State Department funds for deploying
   more security personnel and upgrading construction at U.S. missions.
   Clinton also appealed to Congress to provide additional money for
   diplomatic security, saying the funds approved last year were
   inadequate and 10 percent below what she had requested.
   Security overkill?
   Some diplomats have expressed concern that the State Department could
   tighten security too much as it tries to satisfy congressional
   Republicans who accuse it of not doing enough to prevent the Benghazi
   killings.
   Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria and
   Bahrain, told VOA that political pressure on the Obama administration
   to avoid risky diplomacy is more "severe" than it was before Benghazi.

   "One of the biggest problems we are dealing with is an environment in
   which Washington officials become so nervous about security that they
   reduce the flexibility of diplomats in the field to make critical
   security decisions."
   Neumann, president of the Washington-based non-profit group American
   Academy for Diplomacy, said ambassadors should be the ones to decide
   whether they or their personnel make risky trips outside of their
   offices.
   Nicholas Kralev, author of America's Other Army: The U.S. Foreign
   Service and 21st Century Diplomacy, said existing restrictions on
   diplomatic travel already have made life difficult for the diplomats.
   "In many countries where it is deemed not safe to travel outside the
   capital, diplomats are banned from going. In some countries, they may
   get a waiver of that, but they have to request written permission."
   Kralev said Secretary Clinton tried to strike a balance between
   diplomatic security and flexibility before the September 2012 attacks.
   "Unfortunately after the attacks, I do not see how this can happen, now
   that the focus is much more on the security part of this," he said.
   Accepting risk
   Union leader Johnson said many diplomats have been speaking up in favor
   of flexibility.
   "Benghazi is bringing the issue to the forefront. I am seeing a bit
   more pushback from the Foreign Service against calls to eliminate all
   risk, not travel anywhere and get 64 permissions to do so."
   She said another way to improve security is to boost federal funding
   for training diplomats in foreign languages and country knowledge.
   "(That training) makes you far more attuned to what is going on. You
   are more able to avoid a dangerous situation, and if it happens, you
   are better able to respond to it," she said.
   Neumann said no measures can provide perfect security.
   "The steps (announced by Clinton) are good, but they do not mean that
   you can avoid another Benghazi or another diplomat being killed. That
   is not within the realm of the possible," he said.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-embassy-security/1590611.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-embassy-security/1590611.html