Afghanistan: Serious security lapses at U.S. Embassy, diplomats at risk

The Washington Times Report.

U.S. diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan have serious security lapses that pose “unnecessary risk to staff,” including poor emergency preparedness and inadequate protections that might allow classified materials to fall into the hands of attacking enemies, according to an internal report that raises fresh questions about the State Department’s commitment to safety in the aftermath of the Benghazi tragedy.

The confidential State Department inspector general’s report, obtained by The Washington Times under the Freedom of Information Act, directly criticizes the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security for failing to perform a physical inspection before approving the security plan for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, which was the target of a brash attack by Talibaninsurgents two years ago.

When IG investigators inspected the embassy in Kabul, they found inadequate emergency shelters, food, water rations, medical supplies and backup communication equipment that would be essential to repel or survive an attack, according to the report, which was released to The Times partly redacted for security reasons.

Similar inspections elsewhere found the U.S. diplomatic post in Afghanistan’s western city of Herat lacked an emergency action plan instructing employees on how to respond to an attack and that a Provincial Reconstruction Team outpost in Qala-e-Naw lacked an agreement with allied forces to provide a military response in case of attack.

“The lack of adequate emergency shelters [redacted] the lack of sufficient emergency supplies and equipment, the lack of redundancy in communications, the [redacted] absence of an agreement with the non-Department law enforcement on emergency assistance, and the inability to identify and destroy sensitive material unnecessarily increased the risk of injury to embassy staff and of compromising sensitive material during an emergency situation,” the report warns.

Enlarge Photo

Afghan security forces patrol near the building that was occupied by militants ...more >

The problems with security planning and resources aren’t the only red flags for the safety of American diplomats in Afghanistan.

A separate report this summer from the office of the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction found that U.S. civilian and military personnel face increased security risks because officials at the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development don’t have “express authority to terminate or default contracts” with known Afghan contractors connected to enemy forces. Only the Defense Department has the authority, the report found.

In other words, enemy fighters are in a position to use American tax dollars paid to criminal Afghan contractors to attack U.S. troops and personnel, the special inspector general’s report warned.

State Department officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment over the past week. But the Obama administration recently called for extensive funding to fortify its outposts, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry told trainees at the Foreign Service Institute recently that diplomatic outposts need “the resources and the support and the investments that make the risks that we take today worthwhile.”

2011 attack exposes vulnerabilities

The vulnerabilities identified in the two inspector general reports are all the more stark given that the Kabul embassy sustained a significant attack Sept. 13, 2011, that left some employees with minor injuries and the facility with damage.

“While there were no deaths or serious injuries in the 9/13 attack, there was unnecessary risk to staff during the 9/13 attack because of a lack of these resources and protections,” the State Department inspector general’s report said.

An after-action review of the 2011 attack found that the Kabul embassy:

• Stored rations and supplies in unsecured containers.

• Was hindered in its ability to communicate emergency messages to its personnel because of unreliable alarm and voice broadcasting equipment.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/25/crisis-in-kabul-security-at-us-embassy-in-disarray/#ixzz2aS297VYO
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