O 121415Z FEB 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO SECURITY OFFICER COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS STATE 013023 
 
 
FOR RSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PTER
SUBJECT: SECURITY ENVIRONMENT PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE - 
SPRING 2009 
 
REF: 08 STATE 33533 
 
 
¶1. (U) The following Security Environment Profile 
Questionnaire (SEPQ) will be used by Diplomatic Security,s 
Office of Intelligence and Threat Analysis (ITA) to help 
ascertain Posts, threat levels for political violence and 
terrorism. ITA requests that Post complete the SEPQ by 
Friday, February 27. SEPQ responses should be sent open 
channel and slugged for DS/TIA/ITA, with the FBI, CIA, and 
DIA as info addressees. 
 
¶2. (U) General guidance for completing the questionnaires: A 
formal response is required even if there are no identifiable 
changes from the last rating cycle. Posts are reminded they 
are ultimately responsible for ensuring SEPQs are submitted 
for constituent Posts as well. Posts are encouraged to 
provide substantive responses to applicable questions rather 
than a simple yes or no. Thorough responses will better 
support the analysis required to determine threat ratings. 
Please ensure the SEPQ responses are numbered and properly 
coordinated with the appropriate sections of the 
questionnaire. Although this cable is unclassified, the 
responses should not be limited to this classification. 
 
¶3. (U) By way of background, the Bureau of Diplomatic 
Security is responsible for evaluating the threat environment 
for personnel and facilities that fall under Chief of Mission 
authority. The official ratings for these facilities are 
published semi-annually in the SETL (REF A), and the 
responses to the questions posed below will facilitate the 
rating process for the SETL. 
 
¶4. (U) When published, the SETL is considered an evolving 
document, reflective of the general threat environment as 
opposed to a depiction of the fluctuating real-time threat 
situation. The SETL is designed to provide a long-term 
picture for planning purposes. In instances when threat 
information is considered sufficiently credible to warrant an 
immediate response, the dispatch of TDY security personnel 
and security resources will be committed as necessary, 
regardless of the assigned SETL threat level for the Post. 
 
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Security Environment Profile Questionnaire 
-------------------- 
 
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¶5. (U) Political Violence 
-------------------- 
 
¶I. (U) Demonstrations 
 
¶A. Are there any ethnic or religious communities in-country 
prone to carrying out significant anti-American 
demonstrations? If yes, please describe. 
 
i. Have there been anti-American demonstrations in the 
country within the last 12 months? If yes, please describe. 
 
ii. Have anti-American demonstrations taken place near or in 
front of U.S. diplomatic facilities? If yes, please describe. 
 
iii. What is the average size of an anti-American 
demonstration? 
 
iv. Are anti-American demonstrations usually triggered by 
U.S. foreign policy initiatives, military actions, or by 
domestic issues? 
 
¶B. Are demonstrations generally violent or peaceful? 
 
i. Have violent demonstrations resulted in damage to USG 
property or injuries to USG employees? If yes, please 
describe. 
 
ii. Have violent demonstrators ever penetrated our perimeter 
security line? If yes, please describe. 
 
¶C. Have any anti-government demonstrations taken place in the 
country within the last 12 months? 
 
i. Have any anti-government demonstrations taken place near 
or in front of U.S. diplomatic facilities? If yes, please 
describe. 
 
ii. What is the average size of an anti-government 
demonstration? 
 
iii. Are demonstrations generally violent or peaceful? 
 
iv. Have any demonstrations resulted in damage to USG 
property? If yes, please describe. 
 
 
II. (U) Macro Conflict Conditions 
 
¶A. Is the host country engaged in an interstate or intrastate 
conflict? (This may include battles between organized and 
violent drug cartels.) If yes, please provide a brief 
synopsis. 
 
¶B. If an intrastate conflict, is it an insurgency limited to 
a specific region or is it a countrywide civil war? 
 
¶C. If limited to a specific region, are any U.S. diplomatic 
facilities located in this region? If so, where? 
 
¶D. Have any of the factions involved in intrastate conflicts 
signaled or demonstrated an anti-American orientation? If 
yes, please provide a brief synopsis. 
 
 
III. (U) Host Country Capabilities 
 
¶A. Are law enforcement agencies professional and 
well-trained? Please describe. 
 
¶B. Have they been trained by U.S. agencies? If so, please 
elaborate on effectiveness of training. 
 
¶C. Are law enforcement agencies confronted with serious, 
widespread corruption inside their agencies? Please describe. 
 
¶D. Are the intelligence services professional and capable of 
deterring terrorist actions? Please provide examples. 
 
¶E. Have the intelligence services been cooperative with U.S. 
Embassy requests for information and support? 
 
¶F. Assuming there have been significant terrorist threats in 
recent years, have host country security services been able 
to score any major anti-terrorism successes? If yes, please 
describe. 
 
¶G. Has host country been responsive (re: timeliness and 
allocation of resources) to U.S. Embassy requests for 
protective security? If no, please elaborate. 
 
¶H. How does the Embassy assess the overall security at major 
airports in the country? (excellent; very good; good/average; 
poor) If poor, please elaborate. 
 
¶I. How effective are customs and immigration controls 
agencies? (effective; average; ineffective) If ineffective, 
please elaborate. 
 
¶J. How effective are border patrol forces? (effective; 
average; ineffective) If ineffective, please elaborate. 
 
 
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¶6. (U) Indigenous Terrorism 
-------------------- 
 
¶I. (U) Anti-American Terrorist Groups 
 
¶A. Are there indigenous, anti-American terrorist groups 
in-country? If yes, how many? Please name groups. 
 
¶B. Have groups carried out lethal anti-American attacks 
within the last 12 months? If yes, please describe. 
 
¶C. Were there any other anti-American attacks? If yes, please 
describe. 
 
¶D. Have groups attacked U.S. diplomatic targets? If yes, 
please describe. 
 
¶E. Have groups attacked U.S. business, U.S. military, or U.S. 
related targets? If yes, please describe. 
 
¶F. Have groups limited their attacks to specific regions or 
do they operate country-wide? 
 
¶G. If attacks are limited to regions, are there any U.S. 
diplomatic facilities located in these regions? If so, where? 
 
 
II. (U) Other Indigenous Terrorist Groups 
 
¶A. Are there other indigenous terrorist groups (not 
anti-American) in-country? If yes, how many? Please name 
groups. 
 
¶B. Have groups carried out attacks in the capital or in areas 
where U.S. diplomatic facilities are located? If so, how 
close? 
 
¶C. Were attacks lethal and/or indiscriminate? Please 
elaborate. 
 
¶D. Have any Americans been killed or injured in these attacks? 
 
 
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¶7. (U) Transnational Terrorism 
-------------------- 
 
¶I. (U) Transnational Terrorist Indicators 
 
¶A. Are there any foreign terrorist groups that have a 
presence in-country? Please provide names. 
 
¶B. How does Post assess this presence? Is it an operational 
cell? Financial cell? Support cell? Propaganda cell? 
 
¶C. Is the host government sympathetic to these groups? 
 
¶D. Are there suspect non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 
the country that have a relationship with any of these groups? 
 
¶E. Are there any ethnic or religious communities in-country 
that are sympathetic to these groups? 
 
¶F. How does Post assess the level, intent, and scope of 
hostile intelligence services (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Serbia, 
Sudan, etc.) .in-country relative to potential anti-American 
terrorist acts? 
 
¶G. How does Post assess the availability of weapons and 
explosives in-country or from nearby countries for hostile 
terrorist elements? 
 
 
CLINTON