So, lots of US embassies being closed... discuss?

[JasonPratt]

Only heard about it this morning, but it seems to have been going on a little while now. Surprised not to see discussion about it at Grogheads yet: apparently US Intelligence thinks a major AQ attack is immanent and is closing embassies for a while (but won't say which ones specifically) to be safe.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

My cynical gut tells me it's all BS to "prove" the efficacy of the surveillance state and deflect attention away from current issues like Snowden and info coming out about Benghazi.

[LongBlade]

I'm cynical for a different reason.

First the surveillance comes from snooping on Yemen. Yemenis don't enjoy protection under the US 4th amendment. Ergo the NSA is free to snoop all day, and I welcome their efforts to do so. It's 100% appropriate.

Second, although the news reports are vague, there does indeed seem to be good reason to believe *something* is up.

However, my cynicism runs along a different line. This is August. The alert runs for what is effectively the entire month of August. What month/"anniversary" comes after August?

This is AQ yanking our chain a month in advance. The spin going out is that by announcing that "we know" we're disrupting AQ's ongoing operations. That's BS. All we're doing is making a dry run for whatever (if anything) they're planning for September.

Third, it's odd that we've closed buildings from Africa to Asia. Something like 22. Clearly the Obama administration doesn't want a repeat of Benghazi. But shutting down that many embassies in so many countries is not a sign of caution. It's a sign of bewilderment.

Without access to any details it's impossible for citizens to make an informed decision as to whether this is prudent or paranoid. My guess - and it's only a guess - is what I said above. It's a head fake to prepare for next month.

The real question is what, if anything, are they capable of? One news report I saw yesterday talked about hiding things inside bodies. That is troubling.

[bayonetbrant]

My gut says it's an over-reaction to Benghazi, as much confirming that it was an under-reaction there as it is any sort of preventatitve measure now.  It's real easy to say "look, we did something!" as a result of vague intel reports right now so the administration can pre-emptively guard themselves against later outcries of "it's just like Benghazi all over again" as we start to move toward early campaign season.

[LongBlade]

According to CNN three things prompted this.

The end of Ramadan, the recent prison breaks all over the place, and

Three sources said the United States has information that members of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are in the final stages of planning for an unspecified attack.

One of the sources said such preparations appeared to have increased in recent days.

CNN hints that it has more info but isn't sharing it due to a request by the administration.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/05/politics/us-embassies-close/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[TheCommandTent]

For the sake of everyone I hope this was either an over reaction or the closure of so many embassies negating the plans of the terrorists.  Unfortunately we all know how patient some of the terrorist groups can be.

[LongBlade]

A bit more info from CNN.

A message from al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to his second in command in Yemen told him to "do something," causing U.S. and Yemeni officials to fear imminent terrorist action, CNN has learned.

Source: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/05/source-al-qaeda-leader-urged-affiliate-to-do-something/?hpt=hp_t1

Without context we don't really know what that means, but it almost sounds like they're desperate to be relevant. Not that they aren't dangerous, but that sounds like a guy trying to get back in the game.

[LongBlade]

Now we've ordered almost everyone in Yemen to leave the country.

The State Department on Tuesday ordered most embassy personnel out of Yemen and urged all U.S. citizens currently in that country to leave over the Al Qaeda threat that triggered the shutdown of 19 American diplomatic posts this week.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/06/state-department-urges-american-citizens-to-leave-yemen-urges-non-essential/#ixzz2bBu3HUQG

[Centurion40]

Probably should have done that years ago!

[pawelj]

Speaking of closed embassies. Have the US tried to go after people involved in the embassy takeover in Tehran in 1979? I think one of the conditions of normalizing relations with Iran should be formal apology and extradition of ALL those involved in the takeover and holding US hostages. What you guys think?

[LongBlade]

If I'm not mistaken it starts above them.

The current regime actually welcomed the hostage taking. The entire government sanctioned it. Hard to go after the students who led it when the entire regime supported the action.

Therein lies the heart of the dispute between the US and Iran.

[JasonPratt]

I realize this is technically copyright infringement, but I couldn't get an actual link to the article from Compuserve.

Yemen's government says it foiled al-Qaida plots
AHMED AL HAJ
Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Authorities foiled plots by al-Qaida to take over key cities in southern Yemen and attack strategic ports and gas facilities, a government spokesman said Wednesday amid a heightened alert that has seen Western embassies evacuated and a new suspected U.S. drone strike that killed seven alleged militants from the terrorist group.

Al-Qaida planned to target the cities of Mukalla and Bawzeer, then send militants disguised as Yemeni troops to attack two strategic oil ports in the impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula, government spokesman Rageh Badi said.

Other al-Qaida militants would also try to sabotage pipelines to "create panic among Yemeni army and Yemeni security services," Badi told The Associated Press, adding that authorities managed to foil the plots in the past 48 hours.

Details of the plot were first reported by the BBC.

His remarks came hours after Washington apparently stepped up its drone strikes in Yemen in the covert fight against militants from al-Qaida's branch, which is considered the most active of the terrorist network.

Security officials and residents said early Wednesday that a suspected U.S. drone strike killed seven suspected al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen, the fifth such attack in the country in less than two weeks.

Yemen has emerged as the focus of a feared attack that has led the U.S. to shut down temporarily 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa. American and British workers from embassies in Yemen's capital of Sanaa also have been evacuated.

Washington has been backing a campaign by Yemen's military to uproot al-Qaida militants and their radical allies who had taken over a string of southern cities and towns. The militants have largely been driven into the mountains and countryside, and Yemeni intelligence officials say the current threat may be retaliation for that offensive.

A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat told the AP that the closures were triggered by the interception of a secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major attack.

The drone strike killed the militants in Shabwa province, setting two vehicles on fire, security officials said. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

Residents of the Markha region of Shabwa province said they saw several bodies in two burning cars. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation.

While the United States acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not confirm individual strikes or release information on how many have been carried out.

An AP reporter in Sanaa said a drone buzzed over the capital for most of the day.

Security checkpoints have been set up across Sanaa, searching cars and individuals. The Yemeni army has surrounded foreign installations, government offices and the airport with tanks and troops in the capital as well as the strategic Bab al-Mandeb straits at the entrance to the Red Sea in the southern Arabian Peninsula. Top government officials, along with military and security commanders, were told to stay vigilant and limit their movements.

The terrorist network's Yemeni offshoot, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, has been bolstering its operations for the past few years after key Saudi operatives fled there following a major crackdown in their homeland.

The group overran entire towns and villages in 2011, taking advantage of a security lapse during nationwide protests that eventually ousted Yemen's longtime ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Backed by the U.S. military, Yemen's army was able to regain control of the southern region, but al-Qaida militants continue to launch deadly attacks on security forces.

08/07/2013 11:38

© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

[LongBlade]

Interesting development. Thanks for sharing.

[LongBlade]

I think this is the link to the original article: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_YEMEN?SITE=MAHYC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[JasonPratt]

^^ Different article, dated today not yesterday morning. Certainly a followup with phrases borrowed from the earlier article (no doubt for convenience).