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MEMBERS OF CONGRESS JOIN NUGENT IN SENDING LETTER TO DOD AND STATE DEPT
DEMANDING EXPLANATION OF WHAT ADDITIONAL SECURITY MEASURES ARE BEING TAKEN TO
PROTECT US DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL
(WASHINGTON,
D.C.) – This afternoon, Rep. Rich Nugent (FL-05) and 31 colleagues
sent the following letter to Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Defense
Panetta calling on them to outline both the rules of engagement and additional
security measures being taken to protect US personnel serving
overseas:
Dear Secretaries Clinton and
Panetta,
As the events of the last
twenty-four hours in Yemen have shown, our embassies throughout the
Middle East are vulnerable and they are under threat. It is clear that our
security posture depends heavily on the willingness and ability of local
security forces to control the crowds surrounding our embassies. In our view,
that dependence – on what is clearly an unreliable and uncommitted protective
force – leaves our American diplomatic and military personnel
vulnerable.
Our concern is for the dutiful
civil servants who represent our nation overseas. We must protect these men and
women as their safety is our primary concern during these extraordinary and
unpredictable times. To that end, we would like to know specifically what has
been done in the last twenty-four hours to increase security at our embassies
throughout the region. We also want to know precisely what the rules of
engagement are for our military personnel when angry mobs, with violent
extremists among them, attempt to breach the walls of our facilities overseas.
As you both well know, our
embassies legally represent the sovereign territory of the United States of
America. It is our belief that when individuals are allowed to breach the
walls, enter our facilities, and remove the flag of the United States with
impunity, we send a dangerous message to extremists throughout the region that
our embassies are an open and easy target.
All of these things, in our
opinion, are dangerous and unacceptable. In the event that this situation
continues to escalate, our people in the region need to know what the plan is –
or at least that we have one.
Sincerely,
Rep. Nugent
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