Daniel Serwer has worked at several U.S. posts including Baghdad and is now a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
He says embassies that look like fortresses often become symbols of resentment. "I really think that diplomacy cannot be done from behind 20-foot high walls," he said.
Serwer acknowledges that Ambassador Stevens had good reason for staying inside the Benghazi compound.
"But in terms just of risk, he would have been a lot safer on the street, where 99 out of 100 Libyans would welcome him with open arms, than he was in that safe haven," he said.
But even Serwer concedes that his argument is difficult to make after the ambassador's killing. And with the Obama administration on the defensive over the attack, U.S. embassies will most likely continue being the fortress-like structures they already are.
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2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27