The bombed U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two weeks after bombs exploded outside U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the United States dispatched counterterrorism experts to about two dozen posts around the world.

"As part of the review, diplomatic security teams -- six of them -- were sent out to conduct firsthand security surveys of a number of posts," said State Department spokesman James Rubin. "I'm not in a position to name them."

CNN learned those posts included the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania, which the State Department temporarily shut down last month because it thought terrorists had the embassy under surveillance.

In recent weeks, diplomatic security teams also visited Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Asmara, Eritrea; and Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The teams' reports are expected soon.

But the move hasn't satisfied all the department's critics.

"This is a symbolic gesture, a public relations move to create the illusion that they are doing something," said Larry Johnson, a former State Department counterterrorism official. "The fact is that the State Department has known for a long time where the vulnerabilities are."

Known because more than a dozen years ago, after terrorist attacks on Americans in Beirut, a special panel made similar security reviews. Among its recommendations: Place embassies a minimum of 100 feet from main roads, which could have minimized the impact of the bombings in East Africa.

"The problem is the State Department has not made a priority of building up, fortifying embassies against these attacks," Johnson said.

Johnson's point was underscored Tuesday morning when South African police detonated a suspected bomb found in a trash can outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria. Forensic tests are under way to determine just what was in the suspicious package the police blew up.

But unlike obvious hot spots like Beirut or Algeria, State Department officials say until last month no terrorists had attacked Americans in countries considered "low" risk. Now however, the system of ranking countries in terms of low, medium, high or critical risk is under review.

And in anticipation of the upgrades, modifications, and in some instances, moves that will be necessary to improve security, the state department plans to submit a supplemental budget request to Congress of between $1 billion and $3 billion as early as this week.

CNN Correspondent Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.