The officials in Washington viewed the aerial footage and waited anxiously to hear a military communication.

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The intelligence official, who could also not be named for security reasons, said the launches came as no surprise because North Korea had issued a warning to mariners to avoid an area in the Sea of Japan at certain times between June 24 and July 9 because of a "military firing exercise, " according to a U.S. military communication about the warning provided to CNN.

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Mr. RALPH LATORTUE (Haiti's Consul General for South Florida): President Preval sent a message to the international community asking for help and demanding, if possible, to have military bridges so they can reestablish communication with the rest of the country.

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Allen agrees with MARLO on the need to improve communication and coordination between ships and military assets in the region.

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Apparently, all of the above were considered military-grade, mission-critical methods of communication 100 years ago.

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Recommendations call for Diplomatic Security agents to accompany every convoy, Rice the installation of video cameras in security vehicles, audio recordings of radio traffic between the embassy and such convoys and improved coordination and communication between convoys and the U.S. military.

NPR: U.S. Embassy Security Practices in Iraq Overhauled