It is safe to assume that classified material is occasionally mishandled. The Indyk case provides some insight into this matter. In September 2000, Martin S. Indyk, US Ambassador to Israel, was relieved of his post and his security clearance was lifted, because he has allegedly mishandled classified materials. He was accused of having used an unclassified computer for writing classified documents and o having taken classified documents home to work on them. Apparently, this practice was common among US diplomats at that time. During the subsequent security crackdown the promotion of more than 200 senior States Department officials was frozen. Finally, on October 11, 2000 Ambassador Indyk’s security clearance and his status as Ambassador to Israel were restored. Lapses of security regulations must be fought, but perhaps not in the drastic way the State Department handled the Indyk case. A long as no secrets are disclosed, a policy of reminding the foreign service staff of correct procedures might do.