US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT161

S E C R E T MUSCAT 000161 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPT. FOR DS/IP/NEA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/DSS/CC, DS/DSS/OSAC, 
CA/OCS, NEA/EX, NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 1.6X1 
TAGS: AEMR, ASEC, AMGT, PTER, CASC, KHLS, KVPR, MU, EAC 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MUSCAT EAC - 01/29/2005 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 15960 
     B. MUSCAT 0135 
 
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 29 to review the Embassy's security 
posture following the local 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 29, the Ambassador chaired a meeting of 
the Emergency Action Committee ("EAC") to review the 
Embassy's security posture following the local weekend.  The 
meeting opened with a discussion of the local and regional 
security situations; the EAC continued to characterize the 
former as stable.  The EAC noted no new threat reporting 
specific to Oman.  Likewise, the EAC cited no significant 
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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Iraqi Elections 
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3.  (C)  RSO led a review of reftel A, describing the 
potential threat relating to the upcoming Iraqi elections. 
Members of the EAC confirmed that there are no Iraqi polling 
centers in Oman, and, given the minimal presence of Iraqi 
nationals, the aforementioned elections are not expected to 
resonate significantly in Oman. 
 
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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 25 (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, ARSO, RMAS, P/E, PAO, CONS, MGT, MSG, DAO, OMC (USDR), 
and ECA (USCENTAF) participated in the meeting, which was 
followed by a meeting of the Visas Viper Committee. 
BALTIMORE