Meanwhile, security officers at embassies in other high-threat countries will be watching closely, and likely implementing changes of their own to bolster security in the wake of this week’s events. Given that the embassy in Baghdad is among the largest and most expensive in the world, utilizing state-of-the-art protection technologies, the success of Tuesday’s attack is worrying. The State Department hasn’t indicated whether any of its security protocols failed, though it appears that Iraqi security forces charged with protecting the compound were ineffective against the Shiite forces attempting to storm it. Images from the embassy show significant structural and fire damage to the facility’s primary entryway.
That said, the damage was contained to the front-line reception area, which sits across a compound at a distance from the embassy building itself. That building wasn’t breached, and the protesters were eventually dispersed with tear gas. Diplomats inside the embassy stayed in safe rooms, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a subsequent interview with CBS that the embassy never considered evacuating personnel.
Security presences vary from embassy to embassy. They’re guarded by Marine Security Guard contingents; the size of the force varies by country and is not publicly disclosed. Overall security is overseen by the regional security officers, who advise ambassadors and senior officials and help execute the training exercises, such as the one I observed in Dakar.
There, role-playing actors performing as protestors set fire to tires—simulated with colored smoke grenades—in front of the main guard station while chanting anti-US slogans and wavi ..
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