Federal facilities overseas do not provide adequate security to government personnel, a panel formed to assess the state of America's foreign outposts said Friday.
The Overseas Presence Advisory Panel, in a report commissioned by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright following the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa, said panel members were shocked at the "unacceptable" condition of federal buildings abroad.
"Thousands of Americans representing our nation abroad still face an unacceptable level of risk from terrorist attacks and other threats," concluded the report, "America's Overseas Presence in the 21st Century."
"There is a pressing need to accelerate the process of addressing these security risks to give U.S. representatives overseas the safest environment consistent with the nation's resources and the demands of their mission," the report said.
Reaching acceptable security levels will cost at least $10 billion over the next 10 years, the panel said.
The report comes as Congress and the Clinton administration are negotiating the fiscal 2000 Foreign Operations appropriations bill, which Albright has complained does not provide enough money for American efforts abroad.
The panel cited other deficiencies in federal overseas facilities, including:
- Out-of-date information technology and communications systems. "Most employees overseas cannot e-mail colleagues in other agencies even in the same building, let alone share data with colleagues in different groups or countries," the report said.
- Staffing levels. The government must conduct a comprehensive, interagency assessment of the staffing needs of U.S. missions, the panel said. For each 10 percent reduction in overseas staffing, the government would save $380 million a year, according to the report.
- Lack of coordination. The panel recommended creating an Interagency Overseas Presence Committee so staffing and technology issues among the 30 agencies that have offices overseas can be resolved jointly.