U.S.

U.S. Takes A Vigilant Watch

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 12, 1998 / 8:50 PM EDT / CBS

Armed guards have stepped up their watch at the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

Five other embassies have all but closed -- at least temporarily. Still more, including the embassy in Egypt, have cut back, or even moved their operations.

The heightened security comes as the U.S. issued a blunt warning about threats to American interests in Egypt, Malaysia and Yemen, including possible "attacks on buildings."

"Ambassadors, commanders around the world are assessing their security measures in light of last Friday's attacks and taking appropriate security steps," said national security spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Top national security advisers briefed President Clinton at the White House Wednesday. They don't believe any of the arrests made so far are significant. However, 70 more FBI agents are headed to East Africa to join the investigation.

Officials are also re-examining the suicide bombing of the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan three years ago, saying it bears some similarities.

But the unsolved truck bomb attack on a US facility in Saudi Arabia is what first revealed the frightening reach of the new, more powerful terrorist bombs.

"When a bomb that big faces us, it means that we have to have a setback of 1000 feet and in many cities where we have existing embassies, it's impossible to close the main streets that we're located on," said Pat O'Hanlon, formerly of the State Department's diplomatic security service.
Despite the new security alerts, the U.S. emphasizes it's not "closing" any installations. Instead, it will ask congress for emergency funding to rebuild the destroyed embassies. The president has also ordered the State Department to come up with a plan by the end of the week to strengthen security.