Marine Security Team Heading To Jiddah
Associated Press
December 8, 2004:
WASHINGTON - The U.S. military ordered a Marine Corps antiterrorism security team to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday to assist in security at the consulate, defense officials said.
The officials discussed operational matters only on the condition of anonymity. The team is based elsewhere in the Middle East, the official said.
These teams typically have 50 Marines and are experts in providing security and conducting raids in urban areas, said Maj. Matt Morgan, a Marine Corps spokesman at Camp Lejeune, N.C. They are often deployed in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.
In Jiddah, they will reinforce defenses at the U.S. consulate that were breached by a group of attackers Monday. Eight people, including three attackers and five non-American embassy employees, were killed in the ensuing gunbattle.
Meanwhile, the State Department said Tuesday that the attack could be followed by more terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, a worried State Department said Tuesday.
New travel warnings to discourage U.S. citizens from going there are expected to be issued soon. But, in the meantime, the U.S. consulate in Jiddah will be reopened soon, and the embassy in Riyadh was preparing to reopen, as well.
A day after Islamic militants shot their way into the compound at Jiddah, the circumstances remained unclear, including whether foreign national had been held hostage, spokesman Adam Ereli said.
"Embassy personnel have interviewed all the foreign service nationals who were involved in the attack, Some have said they were taken hostage and used as human shields," he said.
"Our operating assumption is that there are still terrorist elements active in the kingdom, targeting u.S. citizens and faiclities, as well as other commercial and civilian establishments," Ereli said. "Therefore, maximum alertness and caution and prudence is called for."
In general, American diplomatic facilities like the one in Jiddah employ a layered defense against terrorist attacks, with foreign guards on the outside and American security personnel including U.S. Marines inside.
U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide rely almost exclusively on host-nation soldiers and police or private security guards to guard their outer walls. This keeps armed Americans off overseas streets - their presence would be tantamount to foreign soldiers patrolling Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington.
Inside, physical security is provided by U.S. Marines and federal civilian officers with the Diplomatic Security Service.
Four Marines are believed to have been inside the U.S. consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, when it was attacked Monday, Morgan said.
Initial reports suggested none were hurt, and it was unknown whether they took part in the fighting, he said.
There are six Marines, led by a staff sergeant, assigned to the consulate, but Morgan said his best information is that only four were inside during the attack.
The Marines' main job is to control access to the embassy and protect any classified information inside, Morgan said. Marines would not take part in protecting the perimeter of the consulate, but they would assist if there was a security threat inside.
Protection of diplomats and other consular personnel inside is the primary responsibility of the State Department's civilian Diplomatic Security Service. They and the Marines report to a regional security officer.
Morgan said many consulates - which are smaller than embassies - do not have detachments of Marine guards, and those that do are typically in high-threat areas.
Only in Kabul and Baghdad do Marines patrol an embassy's outer perimeter, Morgan said.
The Marine presence at American diplomatic buildings throughout the Middle East is higher than most, he said.
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