EMBASSY SECURITY: PROBLEMS EXIST FOR U.S. AROUND THE WORLD

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970003-4
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
December 12, 2011
Sequence Number: 
3
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
April 22, 1987
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970003-4.pdf160.14 KB
Body: 
STAT Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970003-4 ON PAGE 22 Apri 1 1987- embassy Security: Problems Exist for U.S. Around the World By ELAINE SCIOLINO Spedal to The New YOAt Tlmee WASHINGTON, April 21 - Some of the security problems that have arisen at the American Embassy in Moscow are present in a number of other Amer- Ican missions around the world, ac- cording to Administration officials, in- telligence experts and current and for- mer American ambassadors. ' Missions .in China, Eastern Europe and other areas with a large Soviet presence have been particularly vul- aerable, American security officials >jaid. But they said there were also problems in certain Middle Eastern nd African countries. a Americans serving in friendly coun- Cries where internal security regula- ons are more relaxed are also suscep- ?Qble to Soviet and other subversion, they said. Security lapses elsewhere have not ;drawn the same attention as those in Moscow, the specialists acknowledged, although many of the problems have 1 existed for decades and are considered ,as serious. Nor has the attention di- rected at the problem in Moscow been deplicated elsewhere. 'Problems Are Widespread' i "What the incident in Moscow should ,awaken us to is that the problems and - vulnerabilities are widespread," said- :Adm. 19ft R. Ingnon, catired, a for- imer Deputy-Director of Central Intelli- gence, who headed a special State De- partment advisory panel that investi- ,g*ted embassy security in 1985. e "While the Soviets most skillfully ex- ploit them, they are not the only ones trying." he added, "and vulnerabilities ire at least as large if not larger in other places where the guard is not so high " - An Assistant Secretary of State for biplomatic Security, Robert E. Lamb, acknowledged that hostile espionage is a :global -problem confronting United States diplomatic facilities. "Moscow has a threat level un- matched in the world, but there are other places that are just as vulner- able," he said. "Espionage Is a world- wide problem and not confined to just- hostile countries." In discussing security problems in Eastern Europe, the officials said that embassy buildings in Prague, Buda- pest, East Berlin and Sofia, Bulgaria, are next to buildings that is some cases are owned by the host government. American investigators have turned up evidence of break-ins in buildings in, Eastern Europe and electronic bug. g Outside the Eastern bloc. the least acknowledged but the most serious se- cunt problems are at American fa- cilities in China, according to intelli- When Senate Forei Relations Committee vest ators v s t the rt~~e n em ass buildings last year, ey_ scover a maze of un- nefsTrom the basements to Otner ouuo- ed in s. Doors to a tunes were but did not have alarms- one tunnel lec into the basement of the os ov Em ass said one commUftC si-aff e 6. o`- n en r t ie t mem r w _o_w The consuTn Canton, meanwhile, is considered impossible to protect, since it is situated on several floors of a high-rise hotel and even "secure areas" where only Americans are al- edged by many officials. "The basic rule, especially in the. lowed are guarded by the Chinese po- lice, not American marines. Eastern bloc, where there is American installations are also ency to be less suspicous and a made vulnerable by the extensive use cializing may not be forbidden. of local employees. While West Germa- Bill Would Ban Locals ny, France and Britain hire an average of one local employee for every three of its own officials, the average number of local employees at American posts far exceeds the number of Americans. Last December there were 10,766 Americans and 15,327 local employees working full-time at American posts around the world. In some countries, the difference was dramatic. In Japan, for example, local employees num- bered 407, compared with 269 Amer- icans. In France there were 583 local employees and 291 Americans, and in Morocco 268 locals and 96 ouAmericans. tnumbered Local employees Americans even in some posts in East- ern Europe. In Czechoslovakia, for ex they prohibit socializing. ample, 46 locals worked for 27 Amer- Reducing the number of local em- locals while er cad there were 119 ployees would require budgeting enor to and 52 A mRuns. m resources to substitute Amer- Ins the Moscow, 210 Russians worked a . icons in many jobs. It would also shrink the American Embassy, but all have e significantly the services offered to been withdrawn Americans abroad. Because of language and cultural s Called Vital barriers, American posts in China em-Locals ployed 336 locals and 155 Americans. Extensive renovation or replace- The United States can hire its own ment of more than 100 embassies to local employees in countries with large deter terrorism and espionage, as numbers of Soviet officials, such as recommended by the Inman panel, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iraq and Syria, but it would be even more expensive. is assumed that some of them are intel- But despite the concern about the ligence agents and that all must report widespread use of locals, many diplo- to their governments. mats argue that on the whole they In November 1985, for example, the benefit the Foreign Service. State Department issued a strong pro- They provide valuable services that test when Nicaragua subjected local in some cases could not be duplicated employees of the American Embassy by American contract employees, ac- in Managua to several hours of intense cording to state Department officials. interrogation. American diplomats in And without local employees, they say, both Baghdad, Iraq, and Damascus, American embassies could turn into Syria, have reported problems with closed fortresses with"little connection electronic surveillance. to the populace. Government investigators assert The officials say that native employ- that the problem of socializing between ees know how to resolve problems with American embassy staff members and local bureauctacies, know the lan- local employees and residents is more' guage and dialects and often provide widespread than is generally acknowl- I insight into culture and politics. salaries are low, local employees have been particularly susceptible to offers to spy for Soviet-bloc governments and, to a lesser extent, ostensibly friendly i countries. This month, Representative Jim Courter. Republican of New Jersey, submitted a bill that would ban all local workers from American posts in East- ern Europe. Although the State Department op- poses the bill, it is working on a plan that would eliminate local employees from sensitive areas of American Of- fices in Eastern Europe. It is also in- i . ulatio ns that would fur- l tt..s re t ga g Continued Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970003-4 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970003-4 'Tremendous Benefits' "There are tremendous benefits to being surrounded by foreign nationals, and if one is careful the benefits out- weigh the liabilities," one Foreign, Service officer said. "There's a lot of sentiment in Con- gress for building new embassies when you're saving lives, but not for espio- nage, Mr. Lamb said, referring to the readiness of Congress to make embas- sies more secure against terrorism. "If this Government is going to make em- bassy security a priority, this Congress can help." Mr. Lamb is expected to raise this and other issues in testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommit- tee on International Operations on Wednesday. a Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000705970003-4