State Dept. missing two more laptops Friday, 5 May 2000 0:25 (ET)

State Dept. missing two more laptops

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=84002

WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- One day after she berated Foreign Service employees for security lapses, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright admitted that the State Department was missing two more laptop computers.

The Washington Post reported Friday that Albright testified Thursday before a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that two unclassified laptops were missing.

One of the missing machines was assigned to Morton Halperin, assistant secretary of state for policy and planning. Although Halperin said he had not used the computer, others in his office may have used it for tracking expenses and routine memos, the newspaper reported.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told the Post, "This was not a classified machine, and as best we can well it never had any classified material on it."

The Washington Post said the fact that two additional laptops were missing was disclosed in an ongoing inventory, which was ordered after the State Department admitted that a computer containing classified information was missing.

Albright on Wednesday told some 800 department personnel that "we cannot accept a culture with the department that resists paying full attention to our security responsibilities."

In the past year the State Department has had to admit to embarrassing security lapses. In addition to missing a laptop computer containing classified information, last year a listening device was discovered in a State Department conference room. A Russian diplomat was expelled in connection with that discovery.

-- Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved. --

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