Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Background and Policy Issues

The United States maintains about 285 diplomatic facilities worldwide. Attacks on such facilities, and on U.S. diplomatic personnel, are not infrequent. The deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. personnel in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, along with attacks that week on U.S. embassies in Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen, drew renewed attention to the challenges facing U.S. diplomats abroad, as well as to the difficulty in balancing concerns for their security against the outreach required of their mission. Congress plays a key role in shaping the response to these challenges, such as by providing resources for diplomatic security and examining security breaches overseas.

Author: Congressional Research Service

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: Oct 31, 2014

Number of Pages: 30 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: 150299934X

ISBN-13: 9781502999344