It was the conclusion of the ARBs that there needed to be a senior official at State who was responsible for all of these areas. Our original thought was that the Deputy Secretary should assume these tasks. However, I believe that the appointment of an Under Secretary with specific responsibility for security would be a welcome step in raising the levels of awareness and resources. The renewed appearance of large bomb attacks against US Embassies and the emergence of sophisticated and global terrorist networks aimed at US interests abroad have dramatically changed the threat environment. In addition, terrorists may in the future use new methods of attack of even greater destructive capacity, including biological or chemical weapons.
Old assumptions are no longer valid.
In today's world, US Government employees from many departments and agencies work in our Embassies abroad. They live and work in harm's way, just as military people do. We must acknowledge this and remind our citizenry of this reality of Foreign Service life. In turn, the nation must make greater efforts to provide for their safety. Service abroad can never be made completely safe, but we can reduce the risks to the survival and security of our personnel.