US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT84

S E C R E T MUSCAT 000084 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPT. FOR DS/IP/NEA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/ICI/CTP, DS/ICI/CI, 
DS/DSS/CC, DS/OPO/FPD, DS/OSAC, CA/OCS, NEA/EX, NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 1.6X1 
TAGS: AEMR, ASEC, AMGT, PTER, CASC, KHLS, MU, EAC 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MUSCAT EAC - 01/16/2005 
 
REF: A. MUSCAT 0082 
     B. MUSCAT 0070 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission William R. Stewart. 
Reason: 1.4(c). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (SBU)  The Ambassador chaired a meeting of the Emergency 
Action Committee January 16 to review the Embassy's security 
posture following the local holiday weekend.  Members of the 
EAC noted no substantive changes in the local security 
environment since the last meeting.  Accordingly, the EAC 
agreed that the Embassy's already heightened security posture 
and FPCON remain appropriate.  End Summary. 
 
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Security Environment 
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2.  (SBU)  On January 16, the Ambassador chaired a meeting of 
the Emergency Action Committee ("EAC") to review the 
Embassy's security posture following the local holiday 
weekend.  The meeting opened with a discussion of the local 
and regional security situations; the EAC continued to 
characterize the former as stable, noting no new threat 
reporting specific to Oman. 
 
3.  (SBU)  RSO did, however, raise a situation that occurred 
on the evening of January 15 in which an Embassy employee was 
followed while driving his privately owned vehicle (reftel 
A).  RSO is in the process of reporting details of the 
incident, including vehicle description and license plate 
number, to the Royal Oman Police.  EAC Members cited no other 
security incidents among their staffs or family members over 
the weekend, and CONS confirmed that there were no security 
incidents or security-related queries from the private 
American citizen community. 
 
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Sustained Vigilance 
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4.  (SBU)  Prior to concluding the meeting, RSO reiterated 
that, despite the relative calm, members of the EAC must 
continue reinforcing to both their staffs and family members 
the need for vigilance regarding all aspects of personal 
security, including the need to maintain a low profile and to 
remain unpredictable.  RSO further re-emphasized the 
importance of immediately reporting all suspicious activity 
or security-related incidents -- especially those involving 
suspected surveillance -- to Post One. 
 
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EAC Conclusion 
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5.  (S/NF)  The EAC concluded that there have been no 
substantive changes in previously reported assessments of the 
local security environment since the last meeting held on 
January 12 (reftel B), and that the Embassy's FPCON and 
already heightened security posture remain appropriate. 
Nonetheless, the EAC remains acutely aware of the need to 
monitor both the regional and local security and threat 
environments, and is prepared to take the necessary 
countermeasures should changes to either occur.  AMB, DCM, 
RSO, RMAS, P/E, PAO, CONS, MGT (Duty Officer), MSG, DAO, OMC 
(USDR), and ECA (USCENTAF) participated in the meeting. 
BALTIMORE