fbpx
Wikipedia

Bureau of Diplomatic Security

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and protection of people, property, and information. Its mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for officials to execute the foreign policy of the United States.[1]

Bureau of Diplomatic Security seal

Overview edit

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is the political face and parent organization of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The DSS consists of over 2,000 Special Agents who are responsible for protecting visiting foreign dignitaries and U.S. diplomatic missions abroad. The DSS is the primary conduit utilized by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Department of State for the majority of all security and law enforcement matters. Both acronyms (DS and DSS) are used interchangeably within the State Department and other agencies.

The Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security is in charge of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Under the Assistant Secretary of State are several Deputy Assistant Secretaries; the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary is the Director for the Diplomatic Security Service. The Director for the DSS is the top-ranking, active special agent in the DSS and leads a force of Special Agents, Diplomatic Couriers, Security Engineering Officers, and Security Technical Specialists. Special Agents are sometimes referred to as "DS Agents" or "DSS Agents". Both terms are used interchangeably within the organization and other agencies.

For people who do not work for the Department of State (DOS), there is much confusion about the relationship between DS and DSS. Even within the Department of State, there is still some confusion regarding the difference between the two entities. The DSS is structured as a law enforcement agency that is primarily made up of federal special agents, and the DSS acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Overseas, DS develops and implements security programs to safeguard all personnel who work in every U.S. diplomatic mission around the world and to protect classified information at these locations. The DS presence overseas is led at each post (embassy) by a DSS Special Agent who is referred to as a Regional Security Officer, or more commonly as the RSO, and who serves as the senior law enforcement and security attaché. In the United States, DS protects the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and foreign dignitaries/diplomats who visit the United States. DS has protected Yasser Arafat, the Dalai Lama, and Prince Charles.[2] The agency develops and implements security programs to protect the more than 100 domestic State Department facilities as well as the residence of the Secretary of State.

In addition to investigating crimes involving passport and visa fraud, DSS agents are engaged in other types of investigation. In cooperation with appropriate U.S. agencies such as the FBI and the CIA, DSS investigates the activities of foreign intelligence agencies directed against Department employees. At the request of other law enforcement agencies, DSS assists in apprehending fugitives who have fled the United States. Personnel security background investigations are conducted on all employees, applicants, and contractors seeking employment with the Department. Intelligence investigations look into terrorist incidents and threats made against State Department employees and facilities throughout the world.

Since 1984, DS has administered the Rewards for Justice Program, which pays monetary rewards of up to $5 million, or in recent years even more, upon special authorization by the Secretary of State, to individuals who provide information which substantially leads to the countering of terrorist attacks against United States persons. Through 2001, $62 million had been paid to over forty people in this effort.[3]

History edit

Bureau of Secret Intelligence edit

 
1916 Badge of the Bureau of Secret Intelligence, today's DSS[4]

The Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service was formally established in 1916 under Secretary of State Robert Lansing. The office was headed by a chief special agent, who also carried the title of special assistant to the secretary and reported directly to the secretary on special matters.

A handful of agents worked out of two locations, Washington, D.C., and New York City, operating on confidential funds from the secretary's office. They conducted sensitive investigations, especially on the operations of foreign agents and their activities in the United States. The Diplomatic Security Service was known as the Bureau of Secret Intelligence at its inception in 1916.[5][6][7] The Bureau of Secret Intelligence was also known as U-1, an off-the-books adjunct to the Division of Information.[8][9] Before the United States entered World War I, German and Austrian spies were conducting operations in New York City. The spies were using forged or stolen identity papers. President Woodrow Wilson authorized the Secretary of State to establish a security arm of the Department of State. Three agents were recruited from the United States Secret Service because of their experience with counterfeit documents. Since the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) had the best laboratory, the director of the new agency was recruited there.

The assumption is that the name "Office of the Chief Special Agent", which was sometimes used in 1916, and to this day by various information portals to include the Department of State's website, to downplay the bureau's original mission.

In 1918, the United States Congress passed legislation requiring passports for Americans traveling abroad and visas for aliens wishing to enter the United States. Shortly thereafter, the Chief Special Agent's office began investigating passport and visa fraud. Special agents also protected distinguished visitors to the United States.

During World War I, the Chief Special Agent's office was given the responsibility for interning and exchanging diplomatic officials of enemy powers and assisting in screening people repatriated from enemy-controlled areas.

The Chief Special Agent began reporting his normal activities to the Assistant Secretary for Administration. However, he still retained his title of Special Assistant to the Secretary and reported directly to the Secretary on sensitive matters.

With the help of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), security at State expanded and increased the depth of personnel investigations. The Chief Special Agent's office was used not only for security work within the State Department but also in several aspects of immigration control and in the control of crime on the high seas.

In the 1930s, it became clear that there were major passport fraud activities worldwide involving both Communists and Nazis. The Chief Special Agent's office, working as the investigative and identification arm of the Passport Office, successfully exposed several of these subversive operations.

Office of Security (S.Y.) edit

With the coming of World War II in the minds of the political leaders of America, they decided it was time to develop a separate branch of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. This new branch would be referred to as the Office of Security, or simply the S.Y. One major addition to the Bureau of Diplomatic Society stemming from the addition of the Office of Security was the development of security staffs on a regional level. The Office of Security was also responsible for starting the use of overseas agents carrying out various tasks to protect the security of the United States.[10] As the threat of terrorist acts against America grew, the SY expanded its role as a part of the United States Department of State.

World War II edit

In many of these cases, the passport aspect was incidental to a much larger problem - Soviet and German espionage networks. Investigation of passport fraud in New York City led to the discovery of a Soviet intelligence network that, in turn, revealed a number of Soviet agents and American Communist Party members engaged in espionage activities. Although a back-door approach, these investigations succeeded in exposing for the first time the existence of such Soviet operations.

With the outbreak of World War II, the office expanded again to manage interning and exchanging diplomatic officials of enemy powers and screening Americans, or those claiming American citizenship, after they were forced to leave occupied territories.

After the war, Secretary of State Edward Stettinius undertook a complete reorganization of the Department that directly affected the Chief Special Agent's office. The Secretary requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) review and make recommendations on physical and personnel security. One important result of that report was the separation of security functions in the Department.

A new security office was set up, separate from the Chief Special Agent's office. This new Office of Security (SY) had a program of regional security staffs in the United States and, for the first time, security officers at missions overseas. Later, security functions were merged and, in 1948, Foreign Correlations (an intelligence service) was incorporated into the office, bringing in that aspect of security. Also in that year, the Marine Security Guard Program was inaugurated at U.S. embassies.

The Cold War edit

The discovery of a listening device in the Great Seal at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, known as The Thing, was the catalyst for developing countermeasures technology. By the end of the 1950s, hundreds of listening devices planted by foreign intelligence services were found in U.S. embassies. Also during this decade, a special assignments staff was created to investigate possible misconduct and contact with foreign intelligence services by State Department personnel. This staff worked closely with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and FBI Counterintelligence. Reacting to the crisis in electronic surveillance, SY upgraded its technical security program and began hiring engineers. The assignment of Seabee teams to search for listening devices at the U.S. embassies in Moscow and Warsaw led to the Seabee program within the Department.

SY assumed responsibility for the security of Department of State domestic facilities, which included information security, building passes, and the physical security of Department of State facilities.

Beginning in the late 1960s, several ambassadors and Department officials were kidnapped or assassinated. These actions highlighted the possible exploitation of U.S. diplomats for political purposes. To meet this new threat, SY increased its protective capabilities.

The rages of terrorism continued, creating a new and increasingly dangerous threat to U.S. citizens and missions abroad, as well as to distinguished visitors to the United States. SY responded to the emerging threat by hiring over a hundred new agents and purchasing vehicles, radios, and other support equipment.

SY published handbooks on terrorism and provided advice for overseas personnel on traveling safely to and from work and how to make their homes safer. SY began to survey U.S. embassies for vulnerability to attack. Security officers received more intensive training and learned new skills, like defensive driving.

In 1961, according to at least one source, Otto Otepka, then the Director of SY, brought to the attention of the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee deficiencies in the State Department clearance process. The allegations were traced all the way up to then-United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Despite multiple awards, appeals from multiple U.S. Senators, and despite having maintained his integrity by not backing down, Secretary Rusk removed Otepka from his position and ultimately fired him.[citation needed]

Today, the Diplomatic Security Counterintelligence Directorate conducts a robust counterintelligence program designed to deter, detect, and neutralize the efforts of foreign intelligence services targeting Department of State personnel, facilities, and diplomatic missions worldwide.

The counterintelligence division conducts aggressive counterintelligence inquires and counterespionage investigations with other U.S. Government agencies. All counterespionage investigations are conducted in close coordination with the FBI in accordance with their statutory mandate to prosecute instances or allegations of suspected espionage. The division conducts numerous counterintelligence and security awareness training programs for all U.S. Government personnel requesting or having access to sensitive Department of State facilities and information. All training programs enhance the understanding of both foreign intelligence and espionage threats and countermeasures, and educate employees on the foreign intelligence environment.

In addition, the office relies on a cadre of security engineers to deter, detect, and neutralize attempts by foreign intelligence services to technically penetrate Department of State office buildings and residences. These efforts range from detecting a simple listening device in the wall to countering the most sophisticated electronic eavesdropping devices and systems.[11]

Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Diplomatic Security Service edit

The intensity of terrorist attacks against Americans increased. In the period between 1979 and 1983, there were over 300 attacks; in 1984 alone, there were over 100 attacks. In 1984, Secretary of State George Shultz formed an advisory panel to study make recommendations on minimizing the probability of terrorist attacks on U.S. citizens and facilities.

Headed by retired Admiral Bobby Inman, this commission was known as the Advisory Panel on Overseas Security, or the Inman Panel. The panel examined the Department's security programs and, in a report published in June 1985, made its recommendations to the Secretary.

On November 4, 1985, the U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) were officially established. Today the Bureau of Diplomatic Security has approximately 34,000 employees; 1,800 of whom are the Federal Agents within the Diplomatic Security Service.

 
DS Organizational Chart

The Inman Panel's recommendations received strong support from Congress, and on August 27, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed H.R. 4151, the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986, which codified the recommendations of the Inman panel.[12] The new Bureau had a clearly defined mandate outlined in legislation and structured along the lines of other Federal law enforcement, security, and intelligence agencies.

The Diplomatic Courier Service joined the new Bureau at this time. Couriers no longer hand-carried pouches of communications but protected vast amounts of supplies, equipment, and construction materials bound for sensitive overseas posts.

By the end of the 1980s, DS began sharing information with the American business community operating abroad, through the Overseas Security Advisory Council, which itself expanded to include all members of the U.S. private sector, including non-governmental organizations, religious groups, academic organizations, and associations. Also, the Bureau expanded to provide state-of-the-art security to the Department's communications and information systems.

The security improvements developed and implemented during the 1980s helped Americans withstand the heightened threat in the next decade.

The DS Rewards for Justice Program was initiated in 1992. Since then, more than $49 million has been paid for information that prevented or resolved acts of international terrorism against Americans. Information received through this program has resulted in the capture of several terrorists, including Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Although the FBI received the credit, DSS agents actually found and arrested Yousef, the architect of the bombing. Special Agents Bill Miller and Jeff Riner were given a tip by an associate of Ramzi Yousef about his location. They contacted local officials and arrested Yousef.

DS continues to conduct criminal and personnel security investigations critical to the protection of American borders and the national security of the United States. Special agents investigate more than 3,500 passport and visa fraud violations each year. DS receives about 3,000 requests for overseas investigative assistance from U.S. law enforcement agencies annually and has achieved notable success in locating and apprehending wanted fugitives who have fled the United States .

DS also provides protective services to distinguished dignitaries visiting the United States, as well as 24-hour protection to the Secretary of State.

"War on Terror" edit

Following the August 7, 1998, terrorist bombings of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, the State Department declared the protection of American personnel and facilities overseas a top priority. Congress passed a $1.4 billion Emergency Embassy Security Supplemental (of which DS received about $588 million) enabling the Bureau of make significant improvements at every U.S. diplomatic mission overseas. Since the bombings, the State Department has spent billions of dollars to improve systems and facilities and increase security staffing to protect personnel and dependents around the world.

As overseas security requirements increased, so did the demands on the Diplomatic Courier Service. Couriers now transport more than 115,000 classified and sensitive materials overseas every year.[13]

Security engineering officers (SEOs) continue to design and manage security equipment programs at all posts, which are vital to the protection of our[who?] people and facilities abroad. SEOs also work to detect and prevent the loss of sensitive information from technical espionage, a continuing challenge in light of rapidly changing technology in detection equipment, computer systems, intrusion detection systems, and access control equipment.

While focused on improving security at U.S. missions abroad, several highly publicized incidents at the State Department firmly emphasized the need to strengthen domestic security as well. In addition to taking additional security measures at the State Department, the Assistant Secretary for DS convened a panel of security experts from the FBI, CIA, Department of Defense, U.S. Secret Service, and DS to review all domestic security policies, programs, and procedures. The panel made recommendations concerning access control, physical and technical security, security awareness for employees, restriction of traffic around the building, creation of a chemical/biological program, and additional resources for security. The majority of these recommendations were implemented. The Department continues its efforts to enhance its domestic security program.[citation needed]

Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, DS has played an active role in the global "war on terrorism". With more than 480 special agents assigned to diplomatic missions in 157 countries, DS is the most widely represented American security and law enforcement organization around the world.

The Antiterrorism Assistance Program, provides terrorism-focused police training to civilian security personnel from friendly governments. More than 31,000 students from 127 countries have received ATA training in the last 20 years. These students return to their countries better prepared to fight terrorism and protect Americans overseas during a crisis.[citation needed] In 2017, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported on weaknesses in Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program data and oversight of participants, including those trained in the United States.[14]

Investigations edit

DSS investigations, carried out by numerous Field Offices and Resident Agent offices throughout the U.S, and by RSOs overseas, focus mainly on passport or visa fraud. DSS Special Agents also investigate such cases as international parental kidnapping, violations of the Protect Act, assaults on federally protected persons, fugitive arrests overseas (with host nation assistance), Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence (CI) investigations. If there is a nexus to diplomatic activities, the U.S. Foreign Service, or terrorism, DSS is typically involved.

Passport and visa fraud edit

It is a felony to apply or assist someone in applying for a U.S. passport or visa when they are not entitled to one. Usually this means an alien in the United States trying to establish a false identity or stealing the identity from an American, often one who has died. Sometimes Americans, including Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) are the target of DSS investigations, such as an FSO selling visas for personal gain. DSS also investigates other alleged improper or illegal behavior by Department of State personnel, to include incidents of espionage. Such cases would involve other agencies such as the Department of Justice. Overseas, DSS must take the role of local and state law enforcement when investigating issues such as spousal or child abuse by U.S. government personnel assigned to the embassy. This is because the host country will not investigate or prosecute diplomats, who are considered to have immunity from their laws. DSS also conducts tens of thousands of background investigations per year - not just for the Department of State, but also for other federal agencies.

In recent years, DSS has expanded its overseas investigations program with A/RSO-I's (Assistant Regional Security Officer-Investigators) also known as "Overseas Criminal Investigators". These agents are given special training in consular functions, and are commissioned consular officers. However, they spend a large amount of their time working with the fraud units in consular sections, investigating visa and passport fraud, alien smuggling and human trafficking, although they have responsibilities outside of their respective Consular assignments for mission security. They work closely with host country law enforcement agencies, and have recently been instrumental in dismantling several large alien smuggling rings. Where there exists an identifiable nexus to the United States, DSS coordinates their alien smuggling investigations with the resident or regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attache.

Counterintelligence edit

The Diplomatic Security Service Office of Investigations and Counterintelligence (DS/ICI/CI) conducts a robust counterintelligence program designed to deter, detect, and neutralize the efforts of foreign intelligence services targeting Department of State personnel, facilities, and diplomatic missions worldwide.

The office's counterintelligence division conducts aggressive counterintelligence inquires and counterespionage investigations with other U.S. Government agencies. Counterespionage investigations are conducted in close coordination with the FBI in accordance with their legal mandates.

The division conducts numerous counterintelligence and security awareness training programs for all U.S. Government personnel requesting or having access to sensitive Department of State facilities and information. All training programs enhance the understanding of both foreign intelligence and espionage threats and countermeasures, and educate employees on the foreign intelligence environment.

In addition, the office relies on a cadre of security engineers to deter, detect, and neutralize attempts by foreign intelligence services to technically penetrate U.S. office buildings and residences. These efforts range from detecting a simple listening device in the wall to countering the most sophisticated electronic eavesdropping devices and systems.[11]

On June 4, 2009, the DSS and the FBI arrested former Department of State employee Walter Kendall Myers on charges of serving as an illegal agent of the Cuban government for nearly 30 years and conspiring to provide classified U.S. information to the Cuban government. Mr. Myers’ arrest is the culmination of a three-year joint DSS/FBI investigation.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

Counterterrorism edit

The Diplomatic Security Service maintains agents in dozens of Joint Terrorism Task Force operations around the country. The Office of Protective Intelligence and Investigations in the Threat Intelligence and Analysis division has DSS Special Agents who travel all over the world investigating threats to the Secretary of State and U.S. embassies and consulates. DSS Special Agents on the New York JTTF provided critical information in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and DSS Agents assigned as Regional Security Officers around the world tracked down leads for the FBI and other federal agencies. Any time there is a threat or an attack against a U.S. embassy or consulate, DSS Special Agents are the first on the scene to investigate.

Robert A. Hartung, Assistant Director, of Diplomatic Security's Threat Investigations and Analysis Directorate, announced on September 2, 2010 that the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information that leads law enforcement or security forces to Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali ur Rehman.[21][22][23]

Other investigations edit

The Diplomatic Security Service investigates crimes against State Department personnel and other U.S. Government personnel and families assigned under Chief of Mission authority at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. DSS Special Agents have investigated thefts, assaults, rapes, and murders, among other charges, around the world. Unlike investigations conducted in the United States by other federal agencies, DSS Agents have to work jointly with their foreign counterparts in often hostile areas of the world.

On January 28, 2009, a news story broke about a CIA station chief in Algiers, Algeria who was under investigation by DSS for having allegedly raped two Muslim women.[24][25]

Fugitives edit

 
USMS and DSS team

Because the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is one of the most widely represented law enforcement organizations in the world, its capability to track and capture fugitives who have fled U.S. jurisdiction to avoid prosecution is often considered unmatched. During 2009, DSS assisted in the resolution of 136 international fugitive cases from around the globe.[26]

In 1995, DSS Special Agents Jeff Riner and Bill Miller, the RSOs assigned to the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, were present with Pakistani police and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) when they arrested Ahmed Ramzi Yousef, who was wanted in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City. Despite FBI press releases, it was not the FBI who captured Yousef but the ISI and DSS.

DSS Special Agents located and returned Jared Ravin Yaffe from Brazil. Yaffe, wanted in California for multiple counts of alleged child sexual assault, kidnapping, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, was returned to the United States on May 12, 2009, to face trial. On February 11, 2009, the United States District Court, Southern District of California issued a federal arrest warrant for Yaffe for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Yaffe was profiled on the television show America's Most Wanted on April 11, 2009.[27]

On September 19, 2009, Special Agents from the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) located Derrick Yancey, a former Deputy Sheriff from DeKalb County Georgia, in Punta Gorda, Belize. Yancey was wanted in Georgia for double murder of his wife Linda Yancey and a day laborer. Upon arrival at a local bar, at 6:05 PM local time, a DSS agent tapped on Yancey's shoulder and told him "It is time to go." Belize authorities then arrested Yancey. Yancey was featured on America's Most Wanted.

On November 23, 2009, DSS Special Agents from the U.S. embassy’s Regional Security Office (RSO) worked closely with the U.S. Marshals Service, Guatemalan National Police, and INTERPOL to locate alleged murder suspect 24-year-old Ariel Beau Patrick, who was taken into custody in Guatemala. Ariel Patrick was featured on America's Most Wanted.[28]

AMW - America's Most Wanted featured the capture of Robert Snyder in Belize - DSS Special Agent (RSO) Rob Kelty interviewed by John Walsh - Segment aired on February 27, 2010 on AMW.

On April 26, 2010, after failing to check in with pretrial services within two days of his April 21 hearing on his bond status, Andrew Warren, 42, was apprehended by a combined team of Norfolk Police Department Fugitive Investigators, DSS Special Agents and U.S. Marshals. Judge Ellen S. Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the former CIA officer.[29][30]

On July 30, 2010, special agents from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) located fugitive George Alvin Viste in Peru. Viste is wanted in Clark County, Washington on seven different criminal charges including the rape of a child, child molestation, and incest. "Diplomatic Security’s Regional Security Office in Lima worked closely with the U.S. Marshals Service and our law enforcement counterparts in Peru to locate Viste,” said Jeffrey W. Culver, Director of the Diplomatic Security Service."[31][32][33]

On October 8, 2010, Special Agents from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) located Dario Sarimiento Tomas in Pampanga, Philippines. DSS worked with Philippine officials to apprehend Tomas, who is wanted in South Korea on charges that he defrauded an individual there of more than $200,000. Tomas was arrested by law enforcement officials from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations and National Police. Tomas was assigned to the U.S. embassy in Seoul as a Customs and Border Protection Officer.[34]

On January 12, 2011, Special agents from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) have located and helped return California fugitive John Pope from Mexico. Pope, formerly of San Francisco, was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in La Paz, Mexico on January 12 and returned to the United States on January 18, 2011 to face trial. John Pope has been wanted by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office since October 20, 1998, in connection with allegations of fraud concerning embezzlement of $1,000,000 from the estate of a deceased San Francisco businessman.[citation needed]

February 3, 2011 - Paul Eischeid, a fugitive, and member of the Hells Angels who had eluded U.S. Marshals for nearly eight years—is finally in handcuffs. U.S. Marshals tell AMW that the accused murderer was taken down in Buenos Aires on Feb. 3, 2011. Authorities say an Interpol Red Notice, as well as investigations by the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service in Argentina led to the elusive fugitive's capture.[35]

Budget

The fiscal 2019 budget plan saw an 11% cut to overall diplomatic security in fiscal year 2020, with 18% specifically cut from embassy security, construction, and maintenance.[36]

Assistant Secretaries of State for Diplomatic Security edit

The head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security. Assistant Secretaries within the State Department are allowed to use the title of Ambassador. For the heads of the DS predecessor (SY) see the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) page.

  • Robert E. Lamb (1985–1989), Foreign Service Officer, was Assistant Secretary of State for Administration and Security from 1983–1987, and then became the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security when the position was formally established.
  • Sheldon Krys (1989–1991), Foreign Service Officer, was also concurrently the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Information Management.
  • Anthony Cecil Eden Quainton (1992–1995), Foreign Service Officer, attempted to transfer the Bureau over to the Department of Justice
  • Eric J. Boswell (1996–1998), Foreign Service Officer. Was first the Director of the Office of Foreign Missions, then brought on to concurrently be the DS Assistant Secretary.
  • David Carpenter (1998–2002), a former Secret Service Agent, was the first Assistant Secretary with law enforcement credentials.
  • Francis X. Taylor (2002–2005), Brigadier General and former head of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations.
  • Richard J. Griffin (2005–2007), a former Secret Service Agent and former Inspector General of the Veteran's Administration.
  • Gregory B. Starr (2007–2008), Acting Assistant Secretary, a Diplomatic Security Special Agent and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service.
  • Eric J. Boswell (2008–2012), Foreign Service Officer, was reappointed July 7, 2008, resigned December 19, 2012.[37]
  • Gregory B. Starr (2013-2017) Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service. Starr was reappointed February 1, 2013 as the DSS Director. On July 31, 2013, President Obama announced that he was formally nominating Mr. Starr for Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.[38]
  • Michael Evanoff (2017-July 2020) Sworn in on November 3, 2017
  • Todd J. Brown, acting (July 2020-August 2021)
  • Gentry O. Smith (August 12, 2021 to present), a former DS special agent who previously served as director of the State Department Office of Foreign Missions, where he held the rank of Ambassador.[39]

Overseas Security Advisory Council edit

The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), an office within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Directorate of Threat Investigations and Analysis (DS/TIA), was created in 1985 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to promote security cooperation between American private sector interests worldwide and the U.S. Department of State. It started as a way for major U.S. corporations to receive pertinent security information direct from the government, but has since expanded to include much smaller organizations. Today, over 4,500 U.S. companies, educational institutions, faith-based institutions, and non-governmental organizations are OSAC constituents. Any private-sector organization incorporated in the United States is eligible to join, and constituency is offered free of charge.

OSAC, through its staff of foreign service, civil service, and government contract professionals in the Research and Information Support Center (RISC), provides a forum for sharing best practices, provides the tools needed to cope with security-related challenges and issues abroad, and provides analytical reporting on trends, incidents, and events affecting the private sector, including public annual Crime & Safety Reports with information for private-sector security managers to use when making decisions affecting their organizations.[40] OSAC's reports also include ratings for every location where the United States has a diplomatic facility. However, these are Department of State ratings that speak to the threat against official U.S. Government interests in specific cities; they are not created by OSAC, and are neither countrywide threat ratings nor ratings evaluating the threat to private U.S. travelers.

Private-sector member organizations are selected from its constituency to serve for two to six-year terms on the OSAC Council. Representatives of the member organizations meet quarterly to tackle specific projects, such as the protection of business information and mitigating the effects from transnational crime. The OSAC Council is chaired by the Director of the Diplomatic Security Service and co-chaired by a selected representative of the private sector; currently, the private-sector co-chair represents the Raytheon Company.[41]

OSAC maintains a public website at www.osac.gov. The office was established under authority of the Secretary of State pursuant to 22 U.S.C. § 2656 and in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. App., and its regulations, 41 C.F.R. Part 102-3.

According to 2017 reports, at least the following countries have a critical security rating: Argentina,[42] El Salvador,[43] Guatemala,[44] Honduras,[45] Nicaragua[46] and Peru,[47] high security rating include Albania, medium security reports includes Bolivia[48] among others and 2017 low security report rating includes Canada,[49] Montenegro[50] and Spain[51] among others.

Personnel edit

 
DSS Special Agents with the Colt M4 at range

Special Agents of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service - DSS are sworn Federal law enforcement agents who are responsible for the security of Foreign Service personnel, property and sensitive information throughout the world. Although the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is an organization within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, it is the primary conduit utilized by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the majority of all law enforcement and security matters. The DSS is the federal law enforcement branch of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. DSS Special Agents are responsible for the protection of the Secretary of State, certain foreign dignitaries during their visits to the U.S., and others as designated by the Secretary of State. Major activities include protective services, management of security programs for Foreign Service posts, criminal investigations, and background investigations, in addition to administrative, training, and liaison functions.

 
U.S. Diplomatic Security Service on the range with M249 SAW

Security Engineering Officers (SEO) are responsible for managing the Department's technical and information security programs, projects, and resources throughout the world. SEOs protect personnel, facilities, and sensitive information against espionage, terrorism, and crime. These highly skilled engineers develop, maintain, and install electrical and mechanical systems such as access and perimeter controls, closed-circuit television, alarms, locks, and x-ray and bomb detection equipment. Engineers plan and conduct technical surveillance inspections to detect and nullify clandestine intrusions. They test new technical equipment and develop new techniques, strategies, and procedures for finding hidden intelligence-gathering devices. SEOs continually are challenged to identify security risks, analyze those risks, and develop systems to ensure the integrity of Department of State computers and worldwide network information systems. U.S. Navy Seabees and a cadre of specially trained Security Technical Specialists (STS) assist SEOs with the maintenance and repair of our security systems. Domestically SEO's manage, plan, and provide engineering support to worldwide technical security programs and to the Secretary of State and visiting dignitaries. Overseas SEO's manage Engineering Service Centers (ESC) and Engineering Service Offices (ESO), which provide technical security to one or multiple posts under the management of Regional Security Officers (RSO).

Security Technical Specialists (STS) are support personnel within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security who assist in worldwide technical security programs. These programs provide protection for Department of State facilities and personnel from technical espionage, acts of terrorism, and crime. In this protection effort, sophisticated electronic and electromechanical security systems are used throughout the world, which include: intrusion detection systems (IDS), closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, vehicular and pedestrian access control systems, metal detectors, and explosive detection systems. STS's support technical security support domestically and at ESC's and ESO's worldwide.

Diplomatic Couriers protect information by ensuring the secure movement of classified U.S. Government material across international borders to over 180 Foreign Service missions. Diplomatic pouches can contain thousands of pounds of equipment and construction materials, as well as classified documents bound for sensitive posts. Additionally, Diplomatic courier control officers escort sensitive, but unclassified, crated materials within the United States and across international boundaries. These materials receive the same secure shipment as diplomatic pouches but, unlike diplomatic pouches, are declared to customs on entry into a country. The Diplomatic Courier Service securely delivered over 9.5 million pounds of classified material and 1 million pounds of controlled material last year. The Diplomatic Courier Service is constantly evolving to meet the increasingly restrictive guidelines imposed by various countries.

Note edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Bureau of Diplomatic Security". State.gov. August 6, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  2. ^ Information on protection work from the State Department official web site Retrieved on July 16, 2007
  3. ^ Rewards for Justice official web site Retrieved on January 31, 2009
  4. ^ . Dssaa.org. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  5. ^ Allen Dulles by James Srodes, page 83
  6. ^ The Armies of Ignorance: The Rise of the American Intelligence Empire by William R. Corson, 1977; page 74
  7. ^ Washington Post, Sept 7, 2004, State's Security Bureau Takes on Expanded Role, Robin Wright
  8. ^ 2002 Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the Manhunt for the Al-Qaeda Terrorists, Samuel M. Katz.
  9. ^ "U.S. Department of State DS Pictorial History Photo 5 of 192 - 1916: U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing creates an informal "Secret Intelligence Bureau" to examine information of a secret nature received from other U.S. agencies and from allied intelligence agents, and to oversee surveillance of the German embassy in Washington, DC. The office is never a formal Department bureau but only a few "special agents" located within the Office of the Counselor. Lansing also proposes an inter-agency "secret service" to be centered in the Department of State, but the White House fails to act on the suggestion. In 1917, he hires the first Chief Special Agent, Joseph M. Nye. These initiatives come in response to German and Austrian acts of fraud, propaganda, sabotage, and espionage in the United States during the First World War. (Source: Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection)". State.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  10. ^ "Mid-Century". State.gov. May 14, 2003. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Counterintelligence Investigations, US Department of State
  12. ^ "Ronald Reagan: Statement on Signing the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986". Presidency.ucsb.edu. August 27, 1986. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  13. ^ Adams, Eric. "RIDING WITH THE DIPLOMATIC COURIERS WHO DELIVER AMERICA'S SECRET MAIL". Wired. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  14. ^ U. S. Government Accountability Office. "Antiterrorism Assistance: State Department Should Improve Data Collection and Participant Oversight". www.gao.gov. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "Arrest of Walter Kendall Myers". State.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  16. ^ "Cuban spies arrested". State.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  17. ^ "Federal Indictment of Myers" (PDF). Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  18. ^ "Walter Kendall Myers and wife arrested for spying against the U.S". State.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  19. ^ Hsu, Spencer S. (July 17, 2010). "Walter Kendall Myers sentenced to life in prison". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  20. ^ "U.S. Investigates Syrian Diplomats for Spying on Protesters - State Department may limit their travel". Washingtontimes.com. July 10, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  21. ^ "Diplomatic Security Service announces $5 million dollar reward". State.gov. September 1, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  22. ^ Briefing of USG efforts to disrupt and dismantle TTP September 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "U.S. Diplomatic Security offers millions of dollars for information leading to the capture of TERRORISTS or preventing an attack". Rewards For Justice. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  24. ^ Exclusive: CIA Station Chief in Algeria Accused of Rapes https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=6750266&page=1
  25. ^ Affidavit in Support of a Search Warrant https://abcnews.go.com/images/Blotter/searchwarrant1.pdf
  26. ^ . Amw.com. February 26, 2010. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  27. ^ "Diplomatic Security Locates and Returns A Fugitive From Brazil". State.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  28. ^ "DSS Agents help locate a fugitive from justice in Guatemala". State.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  29. ^ Stein, Jeff (April 26, 2010). "Former CIA Station Chief arrested". Blog.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  30. ^ Cole, Matthew (April 27, 2010). "ABC - Former CIA spy arrested". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  31. ^ "Diplomatic Security Press Release". State.gov. August 19, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  32. ^ "Peruvian press release with video". Elcomercio.pe. July 30, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  33. ^ "Reuters images". Scanpix.no. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  34. ^ "Diplomatic Security Press Release". State.gov. October 29, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  35. ^ . Amw.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  36. ^ Amid Baghdad embassy attacks, US spending on diplomatic security drops 11% January 1, 2020 Justin Rohrlich
  37. ^ Gordon, Michael R.; Schmitt, Eric (December 19, 2012). "Four State Department Officials Are Out After Benghazi Report". The New York Times.
  38. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. July 31, 2013 – via National Archives.
  39. ^ "Gentry Smith - United States Department of State".
  40. ^ "Reports".
  41. ^ "Working Together to Protect U.S. Organizations Overseas".
  42. ^ "Reports".
  43. ^ "Reports".
  44. ^ "Reports".
  45. ^ "Reports".
  46. ^ "Reports".
  47. ^ "Reports".
  48. ^ "Reports".
  49. ^ "Reports".
  50. ^ "Reports".
  51. ^ "Reports".
  52. ^ "Foreign Service Specialist - U.S. Department of State". Careers.state.gov. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2012.

External links edit

  • Official website

bureau, diplomatic, security, this, article, lead, section, short, adequately, summarize, points, please, consider, expanding, lead, provide, accessible, overview, important, aspects, article, march, 2021, confused, with, diplomatic, security, service, commonl. This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article March 2021 Not to be confused with Diplomatic Security Service The Bureau of Diplomatic Security commonly known as Diplomatic Security DS is the security branch of the United States Department of State It conducts international investigations threat analysis cyber security counterterrorism and protection of people property and information Its mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for officials to execute the foreign policy of the United States 1 Bureau of Diplomatic Security seal Contents 1 Overview 2 History 2 1 Bureau of Secret Intelligence 2 2 Office of Security S Y 2 3 World War II 2 4 The Cold War 2 5 Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Diplomatic Security Service 2 5 1 War on Terror 3 Investigations 3 1 Passport and visa fraud 3 2 Counterintelligence 3 3 Counterterrorism 3 4 Other investigations 3 4 1 Fugitives 4 Assistant Secretaries of State for Diplomatic Security 5 Overseas Security Advisory Council 6 Personnel 7 Note 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksOverview editThe Bureau of Diplomatic Security DS is the political face and parent organization of the Diplomatic Security Service DSS The DSS consists of over 2 000 Special Agents who are responsible for protecting visiting foreign dignitaries and U S diplomatic missions abroad The DSS is the primary conduit utilized by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Department of State for the majority of all security and law enforcement matters Both acronyms DS and DSS are used interchangeably within the State Department and other agencies The Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security is in charge of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Under the Assistant Secretary of State are several Deputy Assistant Secretaries the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary is the Director for the Diplomatic Security Service The Director for the DSS is the top ranking active special agent in the DSS and leads a force of Special Agents Diplomatic Couriers Security Engineering Officers and Security Technical Specialists Special Agents are sometimes referred to as DS Agents or DSS Agents Both terms are used interchangeably within the organization and other agencies For people who do not work for the Department of State DOS there is much confusion about the relationship between DS and DSS Even within the Department of State there is still some confusion regarding the difference between the two entities The DSS is structured as a law enforcement agency that is primarily made up of federal special agents and the DSS acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Overseas DS develops and implements security programs to safeguard all personnel who work in every U S diplomatic mission around the world and to protect classified information at these locations The DS presence overseas is led at each post embassy by a DSS Special Agent who is referred to as a Regional Security Officer or more commonly as the RSO and who serves as the senior law enforcement and security attache In the United States DS protects the Secretary of State the U S Ambassador to the United Nations and foreign dignitaries diplomats who visit the United States DS has protected Yasser Arafat the Dalai Lama and Prince Charles 2 The agency develops and implements security programs to protect the more than 100 domestic State Department facilities as well as the residence of the Secretary of State In addition to investigating crimes involving passport and visa fraud DSS agents are engaged in other types of investigation In cooperation with appropriate U S agencies such as the FBI and the CIA DSS investigates the activities of foreign intelligence agencies directed against Department employees At the request of other law enforcement agencies DSS assists in apprehending fugitives who have fled the United States Personnel security background investigations are conducted on all employees applicants and contractors seeking employment with the Department Intelligence investigations look into terrorist incidents and threats made against State Department employees and facilities throughout the world Since 1984 DS has administered the Rewards for Justice Program which pays monetary rewards of up to 5 million or in recent years even more upon special authorization by the Secretary of State to individuals who provide information which substantially leads to the countering of terrorist attacks against United States persons Through 2001 62 million had been paid to over forty people in this effort 3 History editBureau of Secret Intelligence edit nbsp 1916 Badge of the Bureau of Secret Intelligence today s DSS 4 The Department of State s Diplomatic Security Service was formally established in 1916 under Secretary of State Robert Lansing The office was headed by a chief special agent who also carried the title of special assistant to the secretary and reported directly to the secretary on special matters A handful of agents worked out of two locations Washington D C and New York City operating on confidential funds from the secretary s office They conducted sensitive investigations especially on the operations of foreign agents and their activities in the United States The Diplomatic Security Service was known as the Bureau of Secret Intelligence at its inception in 1916 5 6 7 The Bureau of Secret Intelligence was also known as U 1 an off the books adjunct to the Division of Information 8 9 Before the United States entered World War I German and Austrian spies were conducting operations in New York City The spies were using forged or stolen identity papers President Woodrow Wilson authorized the Secretary of State to establish a security arm of the Department of State Three agents were recruited from the United States Secret Service because of their experience with counterfeit documents Since the U S Postal Inspection Service USPIS had the best laboratory the director of the new agency was recruited there The assumption is that the name Office of the Chief Special Agent which was sometimes used in 1916 and to this day by various information portals to include the Department of State s website to downplay the bureau s original mission In 1918 the United States Congress passed legislation requiring passports for Americans traveling abroad and visas for aliens wishing to enter the United States Shortly thereafter the Chief Special Agent s office began investigating passport and visa fraud Special agents also protected distinguished visitors to the United States During World War I the Chief Special Agent s office was given the responsibility for interning and exchanging diplomatic officials of enemy powers and assisting in screening people repatriated from enemy controlled areas The Chief Special Agent began reporting his normal activities to the Assistant Secretary for Administration However he still retained his title of Special Assistant to the Secretary and reported directly to the Secretary on sensitive matters With the help of the U S Postal Inspection Service USPIS security at State expanded and increased the depth of personnel investigations The Chief Special Agent s office was used not only for security work within the State Department but also in several aspects of immigration control and in the control of crime on the high seas In the 1930s it became clear that there were major passport fraud activities worldwide involving both Communists and Nazis The Chief Special Agent s office working as the investigative and identification arm of the Passport Office successfully exposed several of these subversive operations Office of Security S Y edit With the coming of World War II in the minds of the political leaders of America they decided it was time to develop a separate branch of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security This new branch would be referred to as the Office of Security or simply the S Y One major addition to the Bureau of Diplomatic Society stemming from the addition of the Office of Security was the development of security staffs on a regional level The Office of Security was also responsible for starting the use of overseas agents carrying out various tasks to protect the security of the United States 10 As the threat of terrorist acts against America grew the SY expanded its role as a part of the United States Department of State World War II edit In many of these cases the passport aspect was incidental to a much larger problem Soviet and German espionage networks Investigation of passport fraud in New York City led to the discovery of a Soviet intelligence network that in turn revealed a number of Soviet agents and American Communist Party members engaged in espionage activities Although a back door approach these investigations succeeded in exposing for the first time the existence of such Soviet operations With the outbreak of World War II the office expanded again to manage interning and exchanging diplomatic officials of enemy powers and screening Americans or those claiming American citizenship after they were forced to leave occupied territories After the war Secretary of State Edward Stettinius undertook a complete reorganization of the Department that directly affected the Chief Special Agent s office The Secretary requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI review and make recommendations on physical and personnel security One important result of that report was the separation of security functions in the Department A new security office was set up separate from the Chief Special Agent s office This new Office of Security SY had a program of regional security staffs in the United States and for the first time security officers at missions overseas Later security functions were merged and in 1948 Foreign Correlations an intelligence service was incorporated into the office bringing in that aspect of security Also in that year the Marine Security Guard Program was inaugurated at U S embassies The Cold War edit The discovery of a listening device in the Great Seal at the U S embassy in Moscow known as The Thing was the catalyst for developing countermeasures technology By the end of the 1950s hundreds of listening devices planted by foreign intelligence services were found in U S embassies Also during this decade a special assignments staff was created to investigate possible misconduct and contact with foreign intelligence services by State Department personnel This staff worked closely with Central Intelligence Agency CIA and FBI Counterintelligence Reacting to the crisis in electronic surveillance SY upgraded its technical security program and began hiring engineers The assignment of Seabee teams to search for listening devices at the U S embassies in Moscow and Warsaw led to the Seabee program within the Department SY assumed responsibility for the security of Department of State domestic facilities which included information security building passes and the physical security of Department of State facilities Beginning in the late 1960s several ambassadors and Department officials were kidnapped or assassinated These actions highlighted the possible exploitation of U S diplomats for political purposes To meet this new threat SY increased its protective capabilities The rages of terrorism continued creating a new and increasingly dangerous threat to U S citizens and missions abroad as well as to distinguished visitors to the United States SY responded to the emerging threat by hiring over a hundred new agents and purchasing vehicles radios and other support equipment SY published handbooks on terrorism and provided advice for overseas personnel on traveling safely to and from work and how to make their homes safer SY began to survey U S embassies for vulnerability to attack Security officers received more intensive training and learned new skills like defensive driving In 1961 according to at least one source Otto Otepka then the Director of SY brought to the attention of the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee deficiencies in the State Department clearance process The allegations were traced all the way up to then United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk Despite multiple awards appeals from multiple U S Senators and despite having maintained his integrity by not backing down Secretary Rusk removed Otepka from his position and ultimately fired him citation needed Today the Diplomatic Security Counterintelligence Directorate conducts a robust counterintelligence program designed to deter detect and neutralize the efforts of foreign intelligence services targeting Department of State personnel facilities and diplomatic missions worldwide The counterintelligence division conducts aggressive counterintelligence inquires and counterespionage investigations with other U S Government agencies All counterespionage investigations are conducted in close coordination with the FBI in accordance with their statutory mandate to prosecute instances or allegations of suspected espionage The division conducts numerous counterintelligence and security awareness training programs for all U S Government personnel requesting or having access to sensitive Department of State facilities and information All training programs enhance the understanding of both foreign intelligence and espionage threats and countermeasures and educate employees on the foreign intelligence environment In addition the office relies on a cadre of security engineers to deter detect and neutralize attempts by foreign intelligence services to technically penetrate Department of State office buildings and residences These efforts range from detecting a simple listening device in the wall to countering the most sophisticated electronic eavesdropping devices and systems 11 Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Diplomatic Security Service edit The intensity of terrorist attacks against Americans increased In the period between 1979 and 1983 there were over 300 attacks in 1984 alone there were over 100 attacks In 1984 Secretary of State George Shultz formed an advisory panel to study make recommendations on minimizing the probability of terrorist attacks on U S citizens and facilities Headed by retired Admiral Bobby Inman this commission was known as the Advisory Panel on Overseas Security or the Inman Panel The panel examined the Department s security programs and in a report published in June 1985 made its recommendations to the Secretary On November 4 1985 the U S Bureau of Diplomatic Security DS and the U S Diplomatic Security Service DSS were officially established Today the Bureau of Diplomatic Security has approximately 34 000 employees 1 800 of whom are the Federal Agents within the Diplomatic Security Service nbsp DS Organizational ChartThe Inman Panel s recommendations received strong support from Congress and on August 27 1986 President Ronald Reagan signed H R 4151 the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 which codified the recommendations of the Inman panel 12 The new Bureau had a clearly defined mandate outlined in legislation and structured along the lines of other Federal law enforcement security and intelligence agencies The Diplomatic Courier Service joined the new Bureau at this time Couriers no longer hand carried pouches of communications but protected vast amounts of supplies equipment and construction materials bound for sensitive overseas posts By the end of the 1980s DS began sharing information with the American business community operating abroad through the Overseas Security Advisory Council which itself expanded to include all members of the U S private sector including non governmental organizations religious groups academic organizations and associations Also the Bureau expanded to provide state of the art security to the Department s communications and information systems The security improvements developed and implemented during the 1980s helped Americans withstand the heightened threat in the next decade The DS Rewards for Justice Program was initiated in 1992 Since then more than 49 million has been paid for information that prevented or resolved acts of international terrorism against Americans Information received through this program has resulted in the capture of several terrorists including Ramzi Yousef the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing Although the FBI received the credit DSS agents actually found and arrested Yousef the architect of the bombing Special Agents Bill Miller and Jeff Riner were given a tip by an associate of Ramzi Yousef about his location They contacted local officials and arrested Yousef DS continues to conduct criminal and personnel security investigations critical to the protection of American borders and the national security of the United States Special agents investigate more than 3 500 passport and visa fraud violations each year DS receives about 3 000 requests for overseas investigative assistance from U S law enforcement agencies annually and has achieved notable success in locating and apprehending wanted fugitives who have fled the United States DS also provides protective services to distinguished dignitaries visiting the United States as well as 24 hour protection to the Secretary of State War on Terror edit Following the August 7 1998 terrorist bombings of the U S embassies in Dar es Salaam Tanzania and Nairobi Kenya the State Department declared the protection of American personnel and facilities overseas a top priority Congress passed a 1 4 billion Emergency Embassy Security Supplemental of which DS received about 588 million enabling the Bureau of make significant improvements at every U S diplomatic mission overseas Since the bombings the State Department has spent billions of dollars to improve systems and facilities and increase security staffing to protect personnel and dependents around the world As overseas security requirements increased so did the demands on the Diplomatic Courier Service Couriers now transport more than 115 000 classified and sensitive materials overseas every year 13 Security engineering officers SEOs continue to design and manage security equipment programs at all posts which are vital to the protection of our who people and facilities abroad SEOs also work to detect and prevent the loss of sensitive information from technical espionage a continuing challenge in light of rapidly changing technology in detection equipment computer systems intrusion detection systems and access control equipment While focused on improving security at U S missions abroad several highly publicized incidents at the State Department firmly emphasized the need to strengthen domestic security as well In addition to taking additional security measures at the State Department the Assistant Secretary for DS convened a panel of security experts from the FBI CIA Department of Defense U S Secret Service and DS to review all domestic security policies programs and procedures The panel made recommendations concerning access control physical and technical security security awareness for employees restriction of traffic around the building creation of a chemical biological program and additional resources for security The majority of these recommendations were implemented The Department continues its efforts to enhance its domestic security program citation needed Since the September 11 attacks in 2001 DS has played an active role in the global war on terrorism With more than 480 special agents assigned to diplomatic missions in 157 countries DS is the most widely represented American security and law enforcement organization around the world The Antiterrorism Assistance Program provides terrorism focused police training to civilian security personnel from friendly governments More than 31 000 students from 127 countries have received ATA training in the last 20 years These students return to their countries better prepared to fight terrorism and protect Americans overseas during a crisis citation needed In 2017 the U S Government Accountability Office GAO reported on weaknesses in Antiterrorism Assistance ATA program data and oversight of participants including those trained in the United States 14 Investigations editDSS investigations carried out by numerous Field Offices and Resident Agent offices throughout the U S and by RSOs overseas focus mainly on passport or visa fraud DSS Special Agents also investigate such cases as international parental kidnapping violations of the Protect Act assaults on federally protected persons fugitive arrests overseas with host nation assistance Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence CI investigations If there is a nexus to diplomatic activities the U S Foreign Service or terrorism DSS is typically involved Passport and visa fraud edit It is a felony to apply or assist someone in applying for a U S passport or visa when they are not entitled to one Usually this means an alien in the United States trying to establish a false identity or stealing the identity from an American often one who has died Sometimes Americans including Foreign Service Officers FSOs are the target of DSS investigations such as an FSO selling visas for personal gain DSS also investigates other alleged improper or illegal behavior by Department of State personnel to include incidents of espionage Such cases would involve other agencies such as the Department of Justice Overseas DSS must take the role of local and state law enforcement when investigating issues such as spousal or child abuse by U S government personnel assigned to the embassy This is because the host country will not investigate or prosecute diplomats who are considered to have immunity from their laws DSS also conducts tens of thousands of background investigations per year not just for the Department of State but also for other federal agencies In recent years DSS has expanded its overseas investigations program with A RSO I s Assistant Regional Security Officer Investigators also known as Overseas Criminal Investigators These agents are given special training in consular functions and are commissioned consular officers However they spend a large amount of their time working with the fraud units in consular sections investigating visa and passport fraud alien smuggling and human trafficking although they have responsibilities outside of their respective Consular assignments for mission security They work closely with host country law enforcement agencies and have recently been instrumental in dismantling several large alien smuggling rings Where there exists an identifiable nexus to the United States DSS coordinates their alien smuggling investigations with the resident or regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE attache Counterintelligence edit The Diplomatic Security Service Office of Investigations and Counterintelligence DS ICI CI conducts a robust counterintelligence program designed to deter detect and neutralize the efforts of foreign intelligence services targeting Department of State personnel facilities and diplomatic missions worldwide The office s counterintelligence division conducts aggressive counterintelligence inquires and counterespionage investigations with other U S Government agencies Counterespionage investigations are conducted in close coordination with the FBI in accordance with their legal mandates The division conducts numerous counterintelligence and security awareness training programs for all U S Government personnel requesting or having access to sensitive Department of State facilities and information All training programs enhance the understanding of both foreign intelligence and espionage threats and countermeasures and educate employees on the foreign intelligence environment In addition the office relies on a cadre of security engineers to deter detect and neutralize attempts by foreign intelligence services to technically penetrate U S office buildings and residences These efforts range from detecting a simple listening device in the wall to countering the most sophisticated electronic eavesdropping devices and systems 11 On June 4 2009 the DSS and the FBI arrested former Department of State employee Walter Kendall Myers on charges of serving as an illegal agent of the Cuban government for nearly 30 years and conspiring to provide classified U S information to the Cuban government Mr Myers arrest is the culmination of a three year joint DSS FBI investigation 15 16 17 18 19 20 Counterterrorism edit The Diplomatic Security Service maintains agents in dozens of Joint Terrorism Task Force operations around the country The Office of Protective Intelligence and Investigations in the Threat Intelligence and Analysis division has DSS Special Agents who travel all over the world investigating threats to the Secretary of State and U S embassies and consulates DSS Special Agents on the New York JTTF provided critical information in the immediate aftermath of 9 11 and DSS Agents assigned as Regional Security Officers around the world tracked down leads for the FBI and other federal agencies Any time there is a threat or an attack against a U S embassy or consulate DSS Special Agents are the first on the scene to investigate Robert A Hartung Assistant Director of Diplomatic Security s Threat Investigations and Analysis Directorate announced on September 2 2010 that the U S Department of State s Rewards for Justice RFJ program is offering rewards of up to 5 million each for information that leads law enforcement or security forces to Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali ur Rehman 21 22 23 Other investigations edit The Diplomatic Security Service investigates crimes against State Department personnel and other U S Government personnel and families assigned under Chief of Mission authority at a U S embassy or consulate abroad DSS Special Agents have investigated thefts assaults rapes and murders among other charges around the world Unlike investigations conducted in the United States by other federal agencies DSS Agents have to work jointly with their foreign counterparts in often hostile areas of the world On January 28 2009 a news story broke about a CIA station chief in Algiers Algeria who was under investigation by DSS for having allegedly raped two Muslim women 24 25 Fugitives edit nbsp USMS and DSS teamBecause the U S Diplomatic Security Service is one of the most widely represented law enforcement organizations in the world its capability to track and capture fugitives who have fled U S jurisdiction to avoid prosecution is often considered unmatched During 2009 DSS assisted in the resolution of 136 international fugitive cases from around the globe 26 In 1995 DSS Special Agents Jeff Riner and Bill Miller the RSOs assigned to the U S embassy in Pakistan were present with Pakistani police and Inter Services Intelligence ISI when they arrested Ahmed Ramzi Yousef who was wanted in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City Despite FBI press releases it was not the FBI who captured Yousef but the ISI and DSS DSS Special Agents located and returned Jared Ravin Yaffe from Brazil Yaffe wanted in California for multiple counts of alleged child sexual assault kidnapping and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was returned to the United States on May 12 2009 to face trial On February 11 2009 the United States District Court Southern District of California issued a federal arrest warrant for Yaffe for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution Yaffe was profiled on the television show America s Most Wanted on April 11 2009 27 On September 19 2009 Special Agents from the U S Diplomatic Security Service DSS located Derrick Yancey a former Deputy Sheriff from DeKalb County Georgia in Punta Gorda Belize Yancey was wanted in Georgia for double murder of his wife Linda Yancey and a day laborer Upon arrival at a local bar at 6 05 PM local time a DSS agent tapped on Yancey s shoulder and told him It is time to go Belize authorities then arrested Yancey Yancey was featured on America s Most Wanted On November 23 2009 DSS Special Agents from the U S embassy s Regional Security Office RSO worked closely with the U S Marshals Service Guatemalan National Police and INTERPOL to locate alleged murder suspect 24 year old Ariel Beau Patrick who was taken into custody in Guatemala Ariel Patrick was featured on America s Most Wanted 28 AMW America s Most Wanted featured the capture of Robert Snyder in Belize DSS Special Agent RSO Rob Kelty interviewed by John Walsh Segment aired on February 27 2010 on AMW On April 26 2010 after failing to check in with pretrial services within two days of his April 21 hearing on his bond status Andrew Warren 42 was apprehended by a combined team of Norfolk Police Department Fugitive Investigators DSS Special Agents and U S Marshals Judge Ellen S Huvelle of the U S District Court for the District of Columbia issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the former CIA officer 29 30 On July 30 2010 special agents from the U S Department of State s Diplomatic Security Service DSS located fugitive George Alvin Viste in Peru Viste is wanted in Clark County Washington on seven different criminal charges including the rape of a child child molestation and incest Diplomatic Security s Regional Security Office in Lima worked closely with the U S Marshals Service and our law enforcement counterparts in Peru to locate Viste said Jeffrey W Culver Director of the Diplomatic Security Service 31 32 33 On October 8 2010 Special Agents from the U S Department of State s Diplomatic Security Service DSS located Dario Sarimiento Tomas in Pampanga Philippines DSS worked with Philippine officials to apprehend Tomas who is wanted in South Korea on charges that he defrauded an individual there of more than 200 000 Tomas was arrested by law enforcement officials from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations and National Police Tomas was assigned to the U S embassy in Seoul as a Customs and Border Protection Officer 34 On January 12 2011 Special agents from the U S Department of State s Diplomatic Security Service DSS have located and helped return California fugitive John Pope from Mexico Pope formerly of San Francisco was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in La Paz Mexico on January 12 and returned to the United States on January 18 2011 to face trial John Pope has been wanted by the San Francisco District Attorney s Office since October 20 1998 in connection with allegations of fraud concerning embezzlement of 1 000 000 from the estate of a deceased San Francisco businessman citation needed February 3 2011 Paul Eischeid a fugitive and member of the Hells Angels who had eluded U S Marshals for nearly eight years is finally in handcuffs U S Marshals tell AMW that the accused murderer was taken down in Buenos Aires on Feb 3 2011 Authorities say an Interpol Red Notice as well as investigations by the U S Marshals Service and the U S Diplomatic Security Service in Argentina led to the elusive fugitive s capture 35 BudgetThe fiscal 2019 budget plan saw an 11 cut to overall diplomatic security in fiscal year 2020 with 18 specifically cut from embassy security construction and maintenance 36 Assistant Secretaries of State for Diplomatic Security editThe head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security DS is the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Assistant Secretaries within the State Department are allowed to use the title of Ambassador For the heads of the DS predecessor SY see the Diplomatic Security Service DSS page Robert E Lamb 1985 1989 Foreign Service Officer was Assistant Secretary of State for Administration and Security from 1983 1987 and then became the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security when the position was formally established Sheldon Krys 1989 1991 Foreign Service Officer was also concurrently the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Information Management Anthony Cecil Eden Quainton 1992 1995 Foreign Service Officer attempted to transfer the Bureau over to the Department of Justice Eric J Boswell 1996 1998 Foreign Service Officer Was first the Director of the Office of Foreign Missions then brought on to concurrently be the DS Assistant Secretary David Carpenter 1998 2002 a former Secret Service Agent was the first Assistant Secretary with law enforcement credentials Francis X Taylor 2002 2005 Brigadier General and former head of the Air Force s Office of Special Investigations Richard J Griffin 2005 2007 a former Secret Service Agent and former Inspector General of the Veteran s Administration Gregory B Starr 2007 2008 Acting Assistant Secretary a Diplomatic Security Special Agent and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service Eric J Boswell 2008 2012 Foreign Service Officer was reappointed July 7 2008 resigned December 19 2012 37 Gregory B Starr 2013 2017 Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service Starr was reappointed February 1 2013 as the DSS Director On July 31 2013 President Obama announced that he was formally nominating Mr Starr for Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security 38 Michael Evanoff 2017 July 2020 Sworn in on November 3 2017 Todd J Brown acting July 2020 August 2021 Gentry O Smith August 12 2021 to present a former DS special agent who previously served as director of the State Department Office of Foreign Missions where he held the rank of Ambassador 39 Overseas Security Advisory Council editThe Overseas Security Advisory Council OSAC an office within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security s Directorate of Threat Investigations and Analysis DS TIA was created in 1985 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to promote security cooperation between American private sector interests worldwide and the U S Department of State It started as a way for major U S corporations to receive pertinent security information direct from the government but has since expanded to include much smaller organizations Today over 4 500 U S companies educational institutions faith based institutions and non governmental organizations are OSAC constituents Any private sector organization incorporated in the United States is eligible to join and constituency is offered free of charge OSAC through its staff of foreign service civil service and government contract professionals in the Research and Information Support Center RISC provides a forum for sharing best practices provides the tools needed to cope with security related challenges and issues abroad and provides analytical reporting on trends incidents and events affecting the private sector including public annual Crime amp Safety Reports with information for private sector security managers to use when making decisions affecting their organizations 40 OSAC s reports also include ratings for every location where the United States has a diplomatic facility However these are Department of State ratings that speak to the threat against official U S Government interests in specific cities they are not created by OSAC and are neither countrywide threat ratings nor ratings evaluating the threat to private U S travelers Private sector member organizations are selected from its constituency to serve for two to six year terms on the OSAC Council Representatives of the member organizations meet quarterly to tackle specific projects such as the protection of business information and mitigating the effects from transnational crime The OSAC Council is chaired by the Director of the Diplomatic Security Service and co chaired by a selected representative of the private sector currently the private sector co chair represents the Raytheon Company 41 OSAC maintains a public website at www osac gov The office was established under authority of the Secretary of State pursuant to 22 U S C 2656 and in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act FACA as amended 5 U S C App and its regulations 41 C F R Part 102 3 According to 2017 reports at least the following countries have a critical security rating Argentina 42 El Salvador 43 Guatemala 44 Honduras 45 Nicaragua 46 and Peru 47 high security rating include Albania medium security reports includes Bolivia 48 among others and 2017 low security report rating includes Canada 49 Montenegro 50 and Spain 51 among others Personnel edit nbsp DSS Special Agents with the Colt M4 at rangeSpecial Agents of the U S Diplomatic Security Service DSS are sworn Federal law enforcement agents who are responsible for the security of Foreign Service personnel property and sensitive information throughout the world Although the Diplomatic Security Service DSS is an organization within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security it is the primary conduit utilized by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the majority of all law enforcement and security matters The DSS is the federal law enforcement branch of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security DSS Special Agents are responsible for the protection of the Secretary of State certain foreign dignitaries during their visits to the U S and others as designated by the Secretary of State Major activities include protective services management of security programs for Foreign Service posts criminal investigations and background investigations in addition to administrative training and liaison functions nbsp U S Diplomatic Security Service on the range with M249 SAWSecurity Engineering Officers SEO are responsible for managing the Department s technical and information security programs projects and resources throughout the world SEOs protect personnel facilities and sensitive information against espionage terrorism and crime These highly skilled engineers develop maintain and install electrical and mechanical systems such as access and perimeter controls closed circuit television alarms locks and x ray and bomb detection equipment Engineers plan and conduct technical surveillance inspections to detect and nullify clandestine intrusions They test new technical equipment and develop new techniques strategies and procedures for finding hidden intelligence gathering devices SEOs continually are challenged to identify security risks analyze those risks and develop systems to ensure the integrity of Department of State computers and worldwide network information systems U S Navy Seabees and a cadre of specially trained Security Technical Specialists STS assist SEOs with the maintenance and repair of our security systems Domestically SEO s manage plan and provide engineering support to worldwide technical security programs and to the Secretary of State and visiting dignitaries Overseas SEO s manage Engineering Service Centers ESC and Engineering Service Offices ESO which provide technical security to one or multiple posts under the management of Regional Security Officers RSO Security Technical Specialists STS are support personnel within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security who assist in worldwide technical security programs These programs provide protection for Department of State facilities and personnel from technical espionage acts of terrorism and crime In this protection effort sophisticated electronic and electromechanical security systems are used throughout the world which include intrusion detection systems IDS closed circuit television CCTV systems vehicular and pedestrian access control systems metal detectors and explosive detection systems STS s support technical security support domestically and at ESC s and ESO s worldwide Diplomatic Couriers protect information by ensuring the secure movement of classified U S Government material across international borders to over 180 Foreign Service missions Diplomatic pouches can contain thousands of pounds of equipment and construction materials as well as classified documents bound for sensitive posts Additionally Diplomatic courier control officers escort sensitive but unclassified crated materials within the United States and across international boundaries These materials receive the same secure shipment as diplomatic pouches but unlike diplomatic pouches are declared to customs on entry into a country The Diplomatic Courier Service securely delivered over 9 5 million pounds of classified material and 1 million pounds of controlled material last year The Diplomatic Courier Service is constantly evolving to meet the increasingly restrictive guidelines imposed by various countries Note editWith the exception of GS employees of DS serving domestically most DS personnel are members of the United States Foreign Service serving as Specialists 52 See also edit nbsp United States portalU S Diplomatic Security s Mobile Security Deployments MSD U S Diplomatic Security Service DSS List of United States federal law enforcement agencies Rewards for Justice Program Bureau of Diplomatic Security BibliographyReferences edit Bureau of Diplomatic Security State gov August 6 2015 Retrieved November 11 2015 Information on protection work from the State Department official web site Retrieved on July 16 2007 Rewards for Justice official web site Retrieved on January 31 2009 DSSAA Merchandise Catalog DSSAA Logo Items Dssaa org Archived from the original on March 20 2011 Retrieved December 30 2012 Allen Dulles by James Srodes page 83 The Armies of Ignorance The Rise of the American Intelligence Empire by William R Corson 1977 page 74 Washington Post Sept 7 2004 State s Security Bureau Takes on Expanded Role Robin Wright 2002 Relentless Pursuit The DSS and the Manhunt for the Al Qaeda Terrorists Samuel M Katz U S Department of State DS Pictorial History Photo 5 of 192 1916 U S Secretary of State Robert Lansing creates an informal Secret Intelligence Bureau to examine information of a secret nature received from other U S agencies and from allied intelligence agents and to oversee surveillance of the German embassy in Washington DC The office is never a formal Department bureau but only a few special agents located within the Office of the Counselor Lansing also proposes an inter agency secret service to be centered in the Department of State but the White House fails to act on the suggestion In 1917 he hires the first Chief Special Agent Joseph M Nye These initiatives come in response to German and Austrian acts of fraud propaganda sabotage and espionage in the United States during the First World War Source Library of Congress National Photo Company Collection State gov Retrieved December 30 2012 Mid Century State gov May 14 2003 Retrieved December 30 2012 a b Counterintelligence Investigations US Department of State Ronald Reagan Statement on Signing the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 Presidency ucsb edu August 27 1986 Retrieved December 30 2012 Adams Eric RIDING WITH THE DIPLOMATIC COURIERS WHO DELIVER AMERICA S SECRET MAIL Wired Retrieved January 27 2019 U S Government Accountability Office Antiterrorism Assistance State Department Should Improve Data Collection and Participant Oversight www gao gov Retrieved February 3 2022 Arrest of Walter Kendall Myers State gov Retrieved December 30 2012 Cuban spies arrested State gov Retrieved December 30 2012 Federal Indictment of Myers PDF Retrieved December 30 2012 Walter Kendall Myers and wife arrested for spying against the U S State gov Retrieved December 30 2012 Hsu Spencer S July 17 2010 Walter Kendall Myers sentenced to life in prison Washingtonpost com Retrieved December 30 2012 U S Investigates Syrian Diplomats for Spying on Protesters State Department may limit their travel Washingtontimes com July 10 2011 Retrieved December 30 2012 Diplomatic Security Service announces 5 million dollar reward State gov September 1 2010 Retrieved December 30 2012 Briefing of USG efforts to disrupt and dismantle TTP Archived September 5 2010 at the Wayback Machine U S Diplomatic Security offers millions of dollars for information leading to the capture of TERRORISTS or preventing an attack Rewards For Justice Retrieved December 30 2012 Exclusive CIA Station Chief in Algeria Accused of Rapes https abcnews go com Blotter Story id 6750266 amp page 1 Affidavit in Support of a Search Warrant https abcnews go com images Blotter searchwarrant1 pdf DSS collaborates with America s Most Wanted Amw com February 26 2010 Archived from the original on October 25 2012 Retrieved December 30 2012 Diplomatic Security Locates and Returns A Fugitive From Brazil State gov Retrieved December 30 2012 DSS Agents help locate a fugitive from justice in Guatemala State gov Retrieved December 30 2012 Stein Jeff April 26 2010 Former CIA Station Chief arrested Blog washingtonpost com Retrieved December 30 2012 Cole Matthew April 27 2010 ABC Former CIA spy arrested Abcnews go com Retrieved December 30 2012 Diplomatic Security Press Release State gov August 19 2010 Retrieved December 30 2012 Peruvian press release with video Elcomercio pe July 30 2010 Retrieved December 30 2012 Reuters images Scanpix no Retrieved December 30 2012 Diplomatic Security Press Release State gov October 29 2010 Retrieved December 30 2012 Americas Most Wanted AMW Amw com Archived from the original on May 1 2012 Retrieved December 30 2012 Amid Baghdad embassy attacks US spending on diplomatic security drops 11 January 1 2020 Justin Rohrlich Gordon Michael R Schmitt Eric December 19 2012 Four State Department Officials Are Out After Benghazi Report The New York Times President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts whitehouse gov July 31 2013 via National Archives Gentry Smith United States Department of State Reports Working Together to Protect U S Organizations Overseas Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Reports Foreign Service Specialist U S Department of State Careers state gov December 21 2010 Retrieved December 30 2012 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bureau of Diplomatic Security amp oldid 1174279086, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.