The United States maintains more than 250 diplomatic posts, including embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic offices, located around the world. More than 60,000 personnel—U.S. and foreign service nationals— work at these locations. About 50 government agencies and subagencies operate overseas, including the Departments of State, Defense, and Justice; and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Since the 1970s, U.S. diplomatic personnel overseas have been increasingly at risk from terrorist attacks and other acts of violence. In response, the State Department in 1986 began a substantial embassy construction program, known as the Inman program, to protect U.S. personnel and facilities. In 1991, we reported that State was unable to complete as many projects as originally planned due to systemic weaknesses in program management, as well as subsequent funding limitations. This construction program suffered from delays and cost increases due to, among other things, poor program planning, difficulties in acquiring sites, changes in security requirements, and inadequate contractor performance. Following the demise of the Inman program in the early 1990s, the State Department initiated very few new construction projects until the Africa embassy bombings in August 1998 prompted additional funding. In the 1998 bombings, terrorists attacked the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. These large-scale truck bombings killed more than 220 people, including 12 American U.S. government employees and family members, 32 Kenyan national U.S. government employees, and 8 Tanzanian national U.S. government employees. In addition, the bombings injured more than 4,000 Kenyans, Tanzanians, and Americans. Figures 1 and 2 show pictures of the embassy in Tanzania before and after the bombings. Since these embassy bombings, U.S. facilities and personnel have faced continued threats from terrorist and other attacks. Embassy and consulate employees are on the front lines, often serving in dangerous locations, and must rely heavily on the protection provided by the law enforcement and security measures of the foreign country in which they are located. From 1998 through 2002, there were 30 terrorist attacks against overseas posts, personnel, and diplomatic residences. During that same period, overseas posts were forced to evacuate personnel or suspend operations 83 times in response to direct threats or unstable security situations in the host country. (See table 1.) During the first 2 months of 2003, overseas posts authorized the departures of personnel and/or their families a total of 11 times due to security concerns. Before I discuss the results of our work, I want to explain some of State’s security standards and why they are important. State identified five key security standards for overseas diplomatic office facilities to protect them against terrorism and other dangers. First, State believes that office facilities should be at least 100 feet from uncontrolled areas, such as a street where vehicles can pass without first being checked by security officials. Therefore, this distance helps to protect the buildings and occupants against bomb blasts, mob attacks, and other threats. In establishing the setback standard, the State Department determined that at 100 feet, the effects of a bomb blast have diminished to the point where the cost of site acquisition and construction to protect against the remaining blast effects are relatively affordable. State notes that additional setback may not be practical at many locations. Exhibit 1 is a video clip from the State Department showing a test blast from 100 feet away. The second and third standards are strong perimeter walls and anti-ram barriers to ensure that vehicles cannot breach the facility perimeter to get close to the building prior to detonating a bomb. Exhibits 2 and 3 are video clips from the State Department showing the effectiveness of these walls and barriers. The fourth standard requires blast-resistant construction techniques and materials. Among other things, these materials include reinforced concrete and steel construction and blast-resistant windows. Diplomatic Security officials state that flying glass is a primary cause of injuries and deaths in a blast. Coupled with a 100-foot setback, blast-resistant construction provides the best possible protection against a vehicle bomb attack, according to Diplomatic Security officials. Combined, these four standards mitigate the effect of a vehicle bomb attack and prevent the building from suffering catastrophic collapse and complete destruction. State’s fifth security standard is controlled access at the perimeter to the compound. At this control access point, guards can screen personnel and visitors before they enter the embassy compound to verify that they have no weapons and that they should be allowed to enter, and can fully search vehicles before they are permitted to enter the compound. Over the last 4 years, State has accomplished much in improving posts’ security through various security upgrades. These upgrades include the installation of Mylar shatter-resistant window film and forced entry/ballistic-resistant doors; the construction of perimeter security walls and fences, jersey barriers, and compound access controls; and the stationing of additional police and security guards. In June 2002, a bomb attack against the U.S. consulate in Karachi demonstrated the effectiveness of recent security upgrades to the compound. As shown in figure 3, physical damage to the building was minimized by these upgrades. As of September 30, 2002, State had completed security upgrades at 113 posts and had installed Mylar window film barriers and forced entry/ballistic-resistant doors at 242 posts. Further, to address security concerns at some of the buildings without a 100-foot setback, State has secured host government cooperation in either closing adjacent streets and/or posting local police officers as guards to monitor and control surrounding streets. State has also acquired adjacent land at 34 posts to increase setback since the 1998 embassy bombings. For example, State purchased a gas station next to an office annex building in Athens, Greece, and closed the gas station, thus increasing setback and improving security. At all four posts we visited, we observed that recent security upgrades have enhanced security. At three of these posts, local authorities have permitted closing off streets to public traffic in order to protect U.S. facilities. However, Diplomatic Security officials acknowledged that it is not feasible to increase setback by acquiring land and closing off nearby streets at many locations. Furthermore, these officials also told us that security upgrades were partial fixes that did not bring the buildings up to physical security standards. As a result, many buildings and their occupants remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Exhibit 4 is a video clip from the State Department that illustrates this vulnerability. It shows the effect of a blast 100 feet away on an office that does not meet the standard for blast-resistant construction. The windows have been treated with Mylar sheeting, a standard upgrade that mitigates the effects of glass shattering in a blast. Although Mylar provides some protection, the non- blast-resistant window construction may allow glass to be forced into the building at a high rate of speed. To assess the security of embassy and consulate facilities, we analyzed State Department data to determine if the primary facilities meet State’s five key standards that I discussed earlier. Figure 4 shows the portion of posts where the primary office building meets or does not meet four of the five security standards: setback, perimeter wall or fence, anti-ram barrier, and compound access control. At the request of Diplomatic Security officials, we will not discuss details on the remaining standard, blast- resistant construction, due to its sensitivity. We can say, however, that facilities completed since the late 1980s are considered to be blast resistant. Figure 5 shows the number of primary facilities that meet one, two, three, four, or five of the physical security standards. For example, it shows that the primary office facility at 81 posts met none of the five standards. Of these, 36 facilities are in locations that the State Department has designated as posing a high or critical threat level. As shown in figure 4, only 28, or 11 percent, of the primary buildings meet the 100-foot setback standard. More than half of the primary buildings have less than 15 feet of setback—these buildings are virtually perched on the street. Figure 6 is an example of a post with limited setback. At the four posts we visited, all of the primary office buildings have limited setback from the street and several annex buildings have no setback. As shown in figure 7, one of these buildings is adjacent to a public gas station, which could exacerbate the effects of a bomb attack. Another building, with little setback, is located next to a main thoroughfare. Consequently, public traffic, including trucks and buses, routinely travels within feet of U.S. government office space. At three of the four posts we visited, the embassy had secured host government cooperation in closing at least one street surrounding the primary office building; however, embassy officials at one location noted that these agreements were temporary and could be revoked at any time. Moreover, the embassies had not been able to close streets running next to all of their facilities, such as office annexes. For example, figure 8 depicts the view from a senior official’s office in an annex building where post officials were unable to close the main thoroughfare that runs directly in front of the building. Perimeter walls or fences and anti-ram barriers are two standards that work together to protect facilities. We found that 120 primary facilities lack an adequate perimeter wall/fence, while 147 lack adequate anti-ram barriers. Diplomatic Security officials explained that in many cases, posts are unable to install these upgrades due to host country limitations, such as their impact on traffic flow, parking, and the operation of adjoining residences and commercial buildings. Diplomatic Security officials stated that perimeter upgrades have been installed at all posts that are able to accommodate them. We also found that 108 posts either lack or have inadequate compound access control, a system of gates, barriers, and guard booths that is used to pre-screen personnel and vehicles before entering the embassy grounds.