CONTENTS Page Egan, Ambassador Wesley W., ret., chairman, 2003 Foley Accountability Review Board; Ambassador John W. Limbert, president, American For- eign Service Association; and Joseph Petro, executive vice president and managing director, Citigroup Security and Investigative Services, Ford, Jess, Director, International Affairs and Trade Division, U.S. Gov- ernment Accountability Office; Greg Starr, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Countermeasures, Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Foreign Mis- sions, U.S. Department of State; Ambassador Prudence Bushnell, Dean, School of Leadership and Management, the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, U.S. Department of State; and Keith Miller, Director, Office of Overseas Schools, U.S. Department of State Ford, Jess Miller, Keith Starr, Greg Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by: Bushnell, Ambassador Prudence, Dean, School of Leadership and Man- agement, the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Cen- Ford, Jess, Director, International Affairs and Trade Division, U.S. Gov- ernment Accountability Office, prepared statement of Kucinich, Hon. Dennis J., a Representative in Congress from the State Petro, Joseph, executive vice president and managing director, Citigroup Security and Investigative Services, Citigroup, prepared statement of Shays, Hon. Christopher, a Representative in Congress from the State of Connecticut, prepared statement of Starr, Greg, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Countermeasures, Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Foreign Missions, U.S. Department of State: (III) OVERSEAS SECURITY: HARDENING SOFT TARGETS TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2005 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING THREATS, AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Shays (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Shays, Duncan, Dent, Kucinich, and Ruppersberger. Staff present: Lawrence Halloran, staff director and counsel; Thomas Costa, professional staff member; Robert A. Briggs, clerk; Andrew Su, minority professional staff member; and Jean Gosa, minority assistant clerk. Mr. SHAYS. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations hearing entitled, "Overseas Security: Hardening Soft Targets" is called to order. In 2002 terrorists assassinated an American diplomat in front of his home in Amman, Jordan. Lawrence Foley, an employee of the U.S. Agency for International Development, was a dedicated public servant working to bring economic growth and humanitarian aid to a troubled region. But to his terrorist attackers, he was political symbol and a "soft target." Recognizing a growing threat to U.S. personnel, the Department of State has done a great deal to harden embassies and missions. State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, under the leadership of General Charles Williams, has pursued an ambitious, riskdriven program to construct secure new facilities and retrofit or reconfigure older work spaces to reduce vulnerabilities. But as embassy and consulate compounds are fortified, U.S. Government personnel and their families living and working outside those walls draw the aim of criminals and terrorists looking for the next tier of targets. So hardening official buildings is not enough. The security of soft targets hinges on the harder tasks of building personal awareness and sustaining institutional vigilance. Adding cement to the physical plant is an easy part. Precious lives depend on strengthening protections for America's human capital abroad. In a report for the subcommittee released today, the Government Accountability Office [GAO], concludes the State Department has not yet developed a comprehensive strategy that clearly identifies (1) safety and security requirements or the resources needed to better protect U.S. officials and their families from terrorist threats abroad. Despite recommendations by several panels since the late 1980's, programs to enhance security outside the embassy walls remain a porous patchwork. No hands-on antiterrorism training course is required for U.S. personnel and dependents going overseas. Host nation cooperation varies widely. Federal departments and agencies do not effectively or consistently monitor personal security programs. These desultory efforts are too easily overwhelmed by the powerful human tendency to conclude, "It can't happen to me," or "If it's going to happen, there's nothing I can do about it." Defeating the myths of invulnerability and inevitability requires teaching government employees and their families how to recognize threats, how to take reasonable precautions, and how to handle themselves appropriately in menacing situations. Those lessons need to be reinforced regularly as part of a strategic focus that links embassy security and personnel safety to harden today's soft targets against the very real threats waiting outside. The horrific terrorist attack on the school in Beslan, Russia last year reminded the world once again that terrorism is blind to moral boundaries. Terrorists recognize no zone of safety for the innocent. American officials and their families abroad must be equipped to maintain a perimeter of personal safety wherever they go. Despite many studies, numerous recommendations, several efforts and some progress, our witnesses this afternoon will describe just how much must still be done to shield America's soft target abroad. We look forward to their testimony. At this time the Chair recognizes Mr. Duncan. [The prepared statement of Hon. Christopher Shays follows:] TOM DAVIS, VIRGINIA, CHAIRMAN CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, CONNECTICUT DAN BURTON, INDIANA ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, FLORIDA JOHN M. MCHUGH, NEW YORK JOHN L. MICA, FLORIDA GUTKNECHT, MINNESOTA KE SOUDER, INDIANA JEN C. LATOURETTE, OHIO JOD RUSSELL PLATTS, PENNSYLVANIA CHRIS CANNON, UTAH JOHN J DUNCAN, JA TENNESSEE CANDICE MILLER, MICHIGAN MICHAEL R. TURNER, CHIO DARRELL ISSA, CALIFORNIA VIRGINIA BROWN-WAITE, FLORIDA JON C. PORTER, NEVADA KENNY MARCHANT, TEXAS LYNN A WESTMORELAND, GEORGIA PATRICK T. MCHENRY, NORTH CAROLINA In 2002, terrorists assassinated an American diplomat in front of his home in Amman, Jordan. Lawrence Foley, an employee of the U.S. Agency for International Development, was a dedicated public servant working to bring economic growth and humanitarian aid to a troubled region. But to his terrorist attackers, he was political symbol and a "soft target." Recognizing a growing threat to U.S. personnel, the Department of State has done a great deal to harden embassies and missions. State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, under the leadership of General Charles Williams, has pursued an ambitious, risk-driven program to construct secure new facilities and retrofit or reconfigure older workspaces to reduce vulnerabilities. But as embassy and consulate compounds are fortified, U.S. government personnel and their families living and working outside those walls draw the aim of criminals and terrorists looking for the next tier of targets. So hardening official buildings is not enough. The security of soft targets hinges on the harder tasks of building personal awareness and sustaining institutional vigilance. Adding cement to the physical plant is the easy part. Precious lives depend on strengthening protections for America's human capital abroad. 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