VIDEO CNN's Andrea Koppel reports on the increase in funding for security at U.S. Embassies around the world. Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: 2 suspects in U.S. embassy bombings appear in court

July 13, 1999
Web posted at: 6:58 a.m. EDT (1058 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In the wake of the twin bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, the U.S. government immediately allocated $1.4 billion in emergency funds to improve security at diplomatic missions worldwide.

But some security experts believe Washington urgently needs to set aside more money and take more precautions to defend vulnerable embassies and consulates from terrorist attack.

Since the African bombings, the State Department has beefed up security at many posts by adding physical barriers, installing video cameras and building walls, fences and barricades.

Hundreds of diplomatic security officers have been sent overseas and more local security guards were hired.

In some cities, such as the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, the United States bought parcels of property surrounding embassies to provide a security buffer.

That kind of buffer could have made a difference in last year's attack, some observers say.

"The fact of the matter is when you look at the loss of life in Tanzania and the loss of life in Kenya, it was a simple function of where the U.S. embassy was located -- in the middle of the city," said counter-terrorism expert Larry Johnson.

Distancing U.S. missions from busy city streets is just one of the recommendations of two Accountability Review Boards established after the Africa bombings to analyze how to improve security across the globe.

The boards, headed by former Joint Chiefs Chairman William Crowe, concluded that almost 90 percent of all U.S. embassies and consulates are at risk.

Board members recommended that the United States spend $14 billion a year over 10 years to build new embassies outside cities or ensure that embassies are set back at least 100 feet from main streets.

The Clinton administration, believing Crowe's boards have overestimated the risk to U.S. missions, has requested only $304 million for the next fiscal year for increasing embassy security, and an additional $3 billion over five years for the construction of new embassies and consulates.

In response, one U.S. congressman has introduced legislation that would force Washington to spend much more.

"I don't want the responsibility falling on the Congress so that if something in the future happens, they can say, 'You didn't provide the authorization,'" said Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Nebraska.

The State Department will not identify which embassies are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. But some of the United States' most prominent embassies -- including Paris and London -- are located in city centers, bordering major thoroughfares.

Building new embassies or fortifying existing ones will take at least eight to 10 years to complete, even if all the money needed is allocated, State Department officials said.

Last year's bombings outside the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

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