Confirmation Hearing for Assistant Secretary-Designate for Diplomatic Security and Director, Office of Foreign Missions

Eric J. Boswell
Statement Before U.S. Senate Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights
Committee on Foreign Relations

June 18, 2008

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, it is an honor to appear before you today as the President’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Director of the Office of Foreign Missions.

I want to thank the President and Secretary Rice for the confidence they have placed in me, and for this opportunity to be of further service to the Department of State and to our nation. I believe I am well qualified for this position.

I served for 27 years as a career Foreign Service Officer in a variety of assignments both in Washington, D.C. and overseas, culminating in my service as Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security from 1996 to 1998, the same position for which you are considering me today. I left the State Department a decade ago, but I did not leave the security world. While working at the United Nations in 2004, I was responsible for developing and implementing the security structure that was put in place for the United Nations system in the aftermath of the tragic bombing of the UN offices in Baghdad in August 2003. And in my current position in the Office of the Director for National Intelligence, I have been serving as the top security policy official for the intelligence community.

But my heart has always been with the State Department and the Foreign Service. I believe a career in the Foreign Service, whether as a Foreign Service Officer, or a Diplomatic Security Special Agent, or any of the other Foreign Service and Civil Service career paths in the Department of State, is an unparalleled opportunity to serve our nation alongside patriotic, dedicated, highly motivated colleagues. That is why I chose to accept this nomination and hope to be confirmed.

Mr. Chairman, our State Department personnel serve in some of the most dangerous locations on earth. The mission of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security is to keep them safe, and to provide a secure environment for the conduct of our nation’s foreign policy.

But security for our diplomats is only one of many challenges facing the Bureau. Diplomatic Security is a global organization with expertise in international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, dignitary protection, security technology, counterterrorism, and so much more. It is the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State, committed to protecting our nation’s people, property, and information. Diplomatic Security is one of the largest bureaus in the Department with a workforce of more than 2,500 professionals, consisting of special agents, engineers, technicians, diplomatic couriers, and Civil Service specialists. These specialists oversee another 32,000 contract guards and security specialists around the globe.

Diplomatic Security has a broad range of responsibilities including the protection of domestic State Department facilities as well as U.S. embassies and missions overseas. It also plays a key role in combating visa and passport fraud, and has a robust investigations program that is critical to homeland security for the nation. It trains foreign police and security officers to combat terrorism through its Antiterrorism Assistance program. It also protects foreign dignitaries who visit the United States. While it is the responsibility of the U.S. Secret Service to protect visiting heads of state, Diplomatic Security protects the hundreds of foreign ministers and delegations that visit the United States every year. Many of these visitors are from the most politically volatile countries in the world, requiring special protective measures.

The Office of Foreign Missions is another important element of the Bureau. Its primary role is to defend national security by coordinating the activities of U.S. missions abroad and of foreign missions and international organizations in the United States. It develops and implements policies to improve the treatment of U.S. overseas personnel through the application of reciprocal treatment for foreign missions in the U.S. It also protects the interests of the United States and its citizens from foreign diplomats’ abuses of privileges and immunities.

The security challenges facing the Foreign Service today are enormous. Drawing on the expertise I have acquired throughout my professional life, including my most recent experience at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, I believe I can provide the leadership necessary to guide the Bureau at this critical time in our nation’s history.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is a critical part of America’s security apparatus. I was proud to be the Assistant Secretary a decade ago, and would be honored to have the opportunity to serve in that office once again. If confirmed, I will assume my duties with great enthusiasm and commitment. I pledge to work cooperatively with the Congress, with others in the Executive Branch, and to serve the American people.

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today.