DATE=8/13/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-41137
TITLE=BOMBINGS / EMBASSIES
BYLINE=WILLIAM EAGLE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=
CONTENT=
NOT VOICED:
INTRO: THIS WEEK, THE STATE DEPARTMENT ACKNOWLEDGED THE AMERICAN
EMBASSIES IN KENYA AND TANZANIA DID NOT MEET STRICT SECURITY
GUIDELINES. NEWS SOURCES SAY THE EXPENSE OF BUILDING NEW
EMBASSIES -- AND THE BELIEF EAST AFRICA WAS RELATIVELY SAFE FROM
TERRORISM -- ARE AMONG THE REASONS WHY NOT ALL THE BUILDINGS WERE
COMPLETELY UPGRADED AFTER TERRORIST ATTACKS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE
WORLD IN THE 1980S. FROM WASHINGTON, WILLIAM EAGLE LOOKS AT
SOME OF THE WAYS THE NEEDS FOR INCREASED SECURITY RE CHALLENGING
-- AND CHANGING -- AMERICAN EMBASSIES.
TEXT: AMERICA HAS OVER 200 EMBASSIES WORLDWIDE. IN RECENT
YEARS, MANY HAVE BEEN FORTIFIED TO INCREASE SECURITY: SOME HAVE
BEEN MOVED AWAY FROM CROWDED URBAN AREAS TO THE SUBURBS; OTHERS
HAVE INSTALLED SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT AND HAVE BUILT HIGH WALLS
AND GATEHOUSES WITH EXTRA GUARDS.
JANE C. LOEFFLER [LEF'-LER] IS AN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN AND
AUTHOR OF "THE ARCHITECTURE OF DIPLOMACY: BUILDING AMERICA'S
EMBASSIES." SHE SAYS AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THE U-S WANTED
ITS MISSIONS TO SYMBOLIZE THE IDEALS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY --
INCLUDING FREEDOM AND OPENNESS TO ALL PEOPLE. MEMBERS OF THE
PUBLIC, MS. LOEFFLER SAYS, THEN -- AS NOW -- ARE ENCOURAGED TO
VISIT THE U-S INFORMATION AGENCY'S LIBRARIES AND CULTURAL
PRESENTATIONS.
// LOEFFLER ACT //
IN THE EARLY POST WAR YEARS, [MANY AMERICAN EMBASSIES]
WERE CONSPICUOUSLY OPEN: EXTREMELY ACCESSIBLE GLASS
CUBES, AND THERE WAS AN ACTUAL DESIGN POLICY WRITTEN
OUT AND STATED IN 1954 WHERE THE BUILDINGS WERE SUPPOSED
TO BE DISTINCTLY AMERICAN -- BUT ALSO FIT IN WITH LOCAL
HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURAL TRADITIONS. THE BUILDINGS WERE
VERY INVITING BY DESIGN. AT THAT TIME IN THE EARLY COLD
WAR YEARS WHEN THE SOVIETS WERE BUILDING CLASSICAL-TYPE
BUILDINGS THAT WERE PONDEROUS AND FORMIDABLE, AMERICAN
ARCHITECTS CALLED ON TO BUILD THE OPPOSITE: DEFINITELY
ATTRACTIVE.
// END ACT //
BUT IN TIME, SECURITY CONCERNS INCREASED -- IN PART BECAUSE OF
ATTACKS ON U-S DIPLOMATS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. SHORTLY AFTER TWO
ATTACKS IN BEIRUT -- ONE ON A MARINE CORPS BARRACKS IN 1983 AND
THE OTHER ON U-S EMBASSY IN 1984 -- THE U-S CONGRESS CONVENED A
PANEL TO EXAMINE WAYS TO IMPROVE SECURITY AT U-S EMBASSIES. THE
GROUP WAS LED BY RETIRED ADMIRAL BOBBY RAY INMAN.
THE INMAN PANEL RECOMMENDED -- AMONG OTHER SUGGESTIONS --- THAT
THREE METER HIGH WALLS BE BUILT AROUND ALL EMBASSIES AND
CONSULATES, THAT MISSIONS BE BUILT OR RELOCATED OUTSIDE URBAN
AREAS, AND THAT ALL EMBASSIES SHOULD BE AT LEAST THIRTY METERS
FROM BUSY PUBLIC STREETS. (OPT) REPORTS SAY THE EMBASSIES IN
NAIROBI AND DAR ES SALAAM WERE NOT MUCH MORE THAN TEN METERS
FROM THE ROAD -- THOUGH THE TANZANIAN COMPOUND HAD A WALL AROUND
IT. (END OPT)
BRIAN JENKINS IS A LOS-ANGELES-BASED SECURITY CONSULTANT. HE
WORKED WITH THE INMAN COMMISSION AS PART OF A COMMITTEE CALLED
"THE EMBASSY OF THE FUTURE." THE COMMITTEE SUGGESTED WAYS TO
REMODEL OR CONSTRUCT NEW MISSIONS THAT WERE MORE RESISTANT TO
TERRORIST ATTACK.
ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO LIMIT, COVER, OR MOVE GLASS
WINDOWS. THE FORMER AMERICAN EMBASSY IN BEIRUT WAS AMONG
DIPLOMATIC BUILDINGS WITH GLASS FRONTS (OPT) IN THE NAIROBI
EMBASSY EXPLOSION LAST WEEK, MANY WERE HARMED BY FLYING GLASS AND
DEBRIS -- THOUGH IT IS NOT CLEAR IF IT CAME FROM THE EMBASSY OR
A NEIGHBORING BUILDING WHICH COLLAPSED. (END OPT):
// JENKINS ACT //
IF ONE LOOKS AT SOME OF THESE MODERN GLASS BUILDINGS,
YOU HAVE FLOORS THAT ARE SURROUNDED BY WHAT IS
ESSENTIALLY A GLASS SHELL WITH VERY LITTLE INTERNAL
PARTITIONING EXCEPT FOR THE ACTUAL PILLARS THAT BEAR THE
WEIGHT OF THE FLOORS ABOVE. YOU CAN LOOK IN ONE SIDE OF
THE BUILDING THROUGH THE GLASS AND SEE ALL THE WAY
THROUGH. THAT IS EXCELLENT ARCHITECTURALLY, BUT
DANGEROUS IN THE CASE OF AN EXPLOSION. THERE'S NOTHING
TO IMPEDE GLASS AND OTHER THINGS FROM FLYING ACROSS THE
FLOORS AND CAUSING CASUALTIES.
// OPT // A SECOND ISSUE IS THAT BUILDINGS ARE DESIGNED
TO TAKE A LOT OF WEIGHT -- DOWNWARD PRESSURE. SO IF A
BOMB WERE PLACED ON THE ROOF, THE BUILDING WOULD HAVE A
BETTER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL BECAUSE THE BLAST WOULD BE
COMING [DOWNWARD] -- AND THAT IS HOW THE BUILDING IS
DESIGNED TO TAKE THE MOST STRESS. BUT BUILDINGS ARE NOT
USUALLY DESIGNED TO TAKE PRESSURE THAT LIFTS UP THE
FLOORS. IF THE BOMB IS AT STREET LEVEL, IT GENERATES A
FORCE THAT SLAMS INTO THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING AND
[BLOWS] UPWARD. IT LIFTS FLOORS, AND WHEN THEY COME
DOWN WE SEE A PARTIALLY COLLAPSED BUILDING THAT LOOKS
LIKE A CAVED-IN SANDWICH. [HOWEVER] YOU CAN RE-DESIGN
THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCT IT SO IT CAN TAKE GREATER
PRESSURE GOING UP AND REDUCE ITS VULNERABILITY TO
[STREET BOMBS THAT EXPLODE UPWARD].
// END ACT // // END OPT //
THE INMAN COMMISSION ESTIMATED THAT IT WOULD COST UP TO THREE
BILLION DOLLARS IN 1986 TO RENOVATE OR REBUILD AMERICA'S
EMBASSIES. IT SAID 126 EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES WERE NOT SAFE --
AND CALLED FOR 75 POSTS TO BE REBUILT. BUT CONGRESS ONLY
APPROPRIATED ABOUT 700 MILLION DOLLARS -- LESS THAN A THIRD OF
WHAT THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDED -- FOR UPGRADING EMBASSY
SECURITY.
AS A RESULT OF THE INMAN PANEL'S RECOMMENDATIONS, THE NEW
EMBASSIES THAT WERE BUILT BEGAN EMPHASIZING SECURITY OVER DESIGN.
THEY WERE OFTEN BUILT IN COMPOUNDS -- LIKE IN SOMALIA, SAUDI
ARABIA, CYPRUS, KUWAIT, AND EL SALVADOR. THE EMBASSY IN AMMAN,
JORDAN, IS LARGER THAN SIX FOOTBALL FIELDS, AND SURROUNDED BY A
THREE-METER HIGH WALL.
/// OPT // THE EMBASSY IN ACCRA, GHANA, WAS CLOSED FOR SECURITY
REASONS JUST BEFORE THE INMAN GUIDELINES. HISTORIAN JANE
LOEFFLER SAYS SAYS THE BUILDING WAS WIDELY ADMIRED FOR ITS
DESIGN: BUILT ON STILTS, IT WAS ARCHITECTURALLY DARING -- BUT
JUDGED TO BE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PLACE TO WORK. AMONG ITS
DESIGN PROBLEMS WAS A SINGLE CENTRAL STAIRWAY FOR LEAVING AND
ENTERING THE BUILDING -- MAKING IT PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS IN THE
EVENT OF ATTACK OR FIRE. MS. LOEFFLER SAYS ONE AMBASSADOR TO
GHANA -- SHIRLEY TEMPLE BLACK -- COMPLAINED ABOUT THE BUILDING'S
WOODEN WINDOW SHUTTERS:
// OPT: LOEFFLER ACT //
SHE SAID IT WAS A FIRE TRAP. THE ONLY WAY TO OPEN THEM
WAS TO MANUALLY OPEN THE LOUVERS.. AND SHE WAS GIVEN A
LITTLE AX WHEN SHE MOVED INTO HER OFFICE AND WAS TOLD,
IN CASE OF FIRE, TO SMASH HER WAY OUT THROUGH THE
SHUTTERS USING HER AX. SHE SAID SHE COULD NOT DO
THAT. THE BUILDING ALSO HAD A SINGLE ENTRANCE THAT ALSO
SERVED AS THE SINGLE EXIT -- A SIGNIFICANT DANGER IN
CASE OF FIRE OR UNWANTED INTRUSION.
// END ACT // // END OPT //
BUT SOME OBSERVERS SAY GREATER SECURITY HAS NOT NECESSARILY
BROUGHT EFFICIENCY, AND SOME OF THOSE INVOLVED IN PUBLIC
DIPLOMACY SAY THE SECURITY RESTRICTIONS KEEP DIPLOMATS FROM
MEETING THE PUBLIC -- AND GETTING A PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT A GIVEN ISSUE.
WILLIAM C. HARROP IS A RETIRED FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER WHO HAS
SERVED AS AMBASSADOR TO ZAIRE, KENYA AND ISRAEL:
// HARROP ACT //
YOU TEND TO BE REMOVED FROM THE STREET, PHYSICALLY
ISOLATED FROM THE COMMUNITY. YOU TEND TO HAVE THICK
WALLS, AND PUBLIC ACCESS IS HARD TO GET THROUGH WITH A
LOT OF METAL DETECTORS AND A TYPE OF LABYRINTH YOU GO
THROUGH TO BE VIEWED AND BE CHECKED. WE FOUND THAT A
LOT OF PEOPLE -- POLITICIANS OR CITIZENS -- WERE NOT
COMFORTABLE WITH THAT SITUATION. PEOPLE WOULD NOT VISIT
THE EMBASSIES IF THEY FELT LIKE A SUSPECT OR PRISONERS
WHEN (THEY) GO INTO IT.
WE TRY TO HAVE AN OPEN SOCIETY. AND WE DO NOT LIKE TO
APPEAR TO BE AN AUTHORITARIAN SOCIETY OR A DICTATORSHIP,
WHICH IS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A VIEW TOWARD THE PUBLIC OF
SUSPICION, FEAR AND RESERVE. WE ARE A DEMOCRATIC
SOCIETY, AND WE TEND TO WORK THAT WAY AT HOME OR ABROAD.
// END ACT //
(OPT) ON THE OTHER HAND, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN JANE LOEFFLER
SAYS SAFETY -- AND UTILITY -- CAN BE COMBINED. FOR EXAMPLE, SHE
SAYS ARCHITECTS CAN REDUCE THE NUMBER OF WINDOWS AND STILL GIVE
THE BUILDING AN OPEN FEEL: BY HAVING THE WINDOWS FACE AN INNER
COURTYARD, RATHER THAN A PUBLIC STREET.
// OPT: LOEFFLER ACT //
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUILD A CRYPT TO BUILD A [RELATIVELY
SAFE] EMBASSY. NATURALLY, YOU'D BE SAFER UNDERGROUND IN
A CONCRETE BUNKER, BUT THAT IS NOT THE WAY THE U-S
WANTS TO REPRESENT ITSELF ABROAD, NOR SHOULD IT. THE
EMBASSY IN [MALAYSIA] IS HEAVILY FORTIFIED, BUT VERY
ATTRACTIVE. THE ARCHITECT SAID "IT LOOKS FRIENDLY, BUT
IT'S BUILT LIKE A FORTRESS." IT LOOKS LIKE A LARGE
HOUSE WITH BALCONIES AROUND IT, BUT THEY ARE REALLY
BULLET PROOF SHIELDS.
// END ACT //
IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL WHAT LESSONS WILL BE LEARNED FROM LAST
WEEK'S EMBASSY BOMBINGS.
(OPT) THE U-S EMBASSY IN NAIROBI WAS BUILT IN 1981, BEFORE THE
INMAN GUIDELINES. THE FIVE STORY BUILDING WAS DUE FOR A THREE
MILLION DOLLAR REHABILITATION AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENT IN JANUARY
1999. THE NEW YORK TIMES SAYS THOSE CHANGES WOULD HAVE SEPARATED
THE EMBASSY'S BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS AREAS FROM THE MORE PUBLIC
CONSULAR SECTION. (END OPT)
THE NEWSPAPER SAYS THE STATE DEPARTMENT SPENT MORE THAN 750
THOUSAND DOLLARS 10 YEARS AGO TO MODIFY THE DAR ES SALAAM
EMBASSY. IT IS IN A 44-YEAR-OLD THREE STORY OFFICE BUILDING THAT
WAS ONCE THE ISRAELI CHANCELLERY UNTIL THE TANZANIAN GOVERNMENT
TOOK OVER OWNERSHIP IN 1973. SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS THAT SURVIVED
THE DAR ES SALAAM ATTACK REPORTEDLY DID NOT CONTAIN VIDEOTAPE --
THEY WERE USED STRICTLY FOR MONITORING. A N EMBASSY SPOKESMAN IS
QUOTED AS SAYING THAT POLICY WOULD BE CHANGED. (END OPT)
FROM 1996 THROUGH THE NEW FISCAL 1999 BUDGET, THE U-S CONGRESS
HAS PROVIDED 112 MILLION DOLLARS TO INCREASE EMBASSY SECURITY.
SINCE LAST WEEK'S BOMBINGS, LAWMAKERS ARE CALLING FOR RENEWED
ATTENTION TO THE SECURITY OF AMERICA'S OVERSEAS MISSIONS. THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE,
BENJAMIN GILMAN, AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE INTERNATIONAL
OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS SUBCOMMITTEE, CHRISTOPHER SMITH, HAVE
CALLED FOR EMBASSY SECURITY TO BE A TOP PRIORITY.
HOWEVER, SOME ANALYSTS WARN NO BUILDING IS EVER COMPLETELY
SAFE. THE NEW YORK TIMES QUOTES THE UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR
POLITICAL AFFAIRS, THOMAS PICKERING, ON THE MATTER OF SECURITY.
WHEN ASKED TO ASSESS THE VULNERABILITY OF THE NAIROBI AND DAR ES
SALAAM EMBASSIES TO ATTACK, HE REPLIED, "BOMB PROOF IS A
RELATIVE TERM. TELL ME WHAT SIZE THE BOMB, AND I'LL TELL YOU
WHAT THE PROOF IS." (SIGNED)
NEB/WE/KL
13-Aug-98 11:49 AM EDT (1549 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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