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Many U.S. embassies across the Middle East will be closed on Sunday usually a working day in the Arab world in what the State Department says is a precautionary measure based on security considerations. The State Department has not released a list of the missions ordered to close, but a review of official websites shows that they include the embassies in most Arab capitals from Cairo to Baghdad, as well as those in Israel, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Exceptions are the embassies in Beirut and Islamabad, but neither is usually open on a Sunday anyway. The Department has been apprised of information that, out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting our installations, indicates we should institute these precautionary steps, says a notice posted on many of the affected embassies websites. It is possible we may have additional days of closings as well, depending on our analysis, it adds. As of early Friday all specified closures were for Sunday only except for the embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, which will be closed on Sunday and Monday. The Department, when conditions warrant, takes steps like this to balance our continued operations with security and safety, the notice says. However, beyond this announcement we do not discuss specific threat information, security considerations or measures, or other steps we may be taking.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said she would not go into any more detail about specific threat information, or any particular significance attached to the August 4 date. August 4 this year marks the 27th night of Ramadan, which according to most but not all Muslim scholars is Laylat al-Qadr (night of power or night of destiny), when Muslims believe the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Mohammed in the 7th century. The Quran describes the night as better than a thousand months, and many devout Muslims stay up through the night. In its entry for August 4, the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centers 2013 calendar notes: Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Power; the night of revelation of Quran to Mohammed, begins this evening.)
The 2013 NTCT calendar does not offer any further detail about the night, but in earlier editions up until 2010 (archived copy) it commented, Islamic extremists might consider Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Power) especially auspicious for a terrorist attack. Islamic tradition holds that on this night rewards for deeds pleasing to Allah are magnified a thousandfold; extremists, in particular, believe that the gates of heaven are opened then for those who wage jihad in defense of Islam to enter paradise. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, dates of holidays change each year. Major Islamist terror attacks that have taken place around Laylat-al-Qadr in the years since 9/11 include: an attack on the Indian parliament, 13 killed (Dec. 2011); suicide bombings at the British consulate-general in Istanbul, 30 killed (Nov. 2003); a suicide car bombing in Kirkuk, Iraq, five killed (Nov. 2003); bombings in New Delhi, 62 killed (Oct. 2005); and a Boko Haram suicide bombing at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, 25 killed (Aug. 2011).
On Thursday the House Foreign Affairs Committee marked up a State Department authorization bill that entails a nine percent cut overall from last year, but does fund in full the administrations request for embassy security, including $2.65 billion for embassy security, construction, and maintenance, and $2.18 billion for a worldwide security program, which covers diplomatic security personnel. The bill also comprises other security measures, introduced in response to the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya last September, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith and Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed. They include a requirement that the State Department designate a list of high-risk, high-threat posts and ensure they have the security measures and funding needed; and a requirement that the State and Defense departments jointly develop contingency plans for emergencies, including planning for the rapid deployment of military resources.
- See more at: Security Closures of US Embassies Across Middle East Coincide With Ramadan ?Night of Power? | CNS News
Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, led the meeting and then joined Lisa Monaco, Obama's assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, in briefing the president, the White House said in a statement. "The president has received frequent briefings over the last week on all aspects of the potential threat and our preparedness measures," according to the statement. Among those at the meeting Saturday afternoon were the secretaries of state, defense and homeland security and the directors of the FBI, CIA and the National Security Agency, according to the White House. Also attending was Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an interview Friday with ABC News, Dempsey said officials had determined there was "a significant threat stream" and that the threat was more specific than previous ones. The "intent is to attack Western, not just U.S. interests," he said.
The global travel warning was the first such alert since an announcement before the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The warning comes less than a year since the deadly September attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, and with the Obama administration and Congress determined to prevent any similar breach of an American embassy or consulate. The State Department's warning urged U.S. travelers to take extra precautions overseas. It cited potential dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists, and noted that previous attacks have centered on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats. Travelers were advised to sign up for State Department alerts and register with U.S. consulates in the countries they visit. The statement said that al-Qaida or its allies might target either U.S. government or private American interests. The alert expires on Aug. 31.
The State Department said the potential for terrorism was particularly acute in the Middle East and North Africa, with a possible attack occurring on or coming from the Arabian Peninsula. The diplomatic facilities affected stretch from Mauritania in northwest Africa to Afghanistan. U.S. officials pointed specifically to Yemen, the home of al-Qaida's most dangerous affiliate and the network blamed for several notable plots against the United States, from the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit to the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights. "Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," a department statement said.
Yemen's president, Abdo Rabby Mansour Hadi, met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday, where both leaders cited strong counterterrorism cooperation. This past week, Yemen's military reported a U.S. drone strike killed six alleged al-Qaida militants in the group's southern strongholds. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said the embassy threat was linked to al-Qaida and concerned the Middle East and Central Asia. "In this instance, we can take a step to better protect our personnel and, out of an abundance of caution, we should," Royce said. He declined to say if the National Security Agency's much-debated surveillance program helped reveal the threat.
Top US officials meet to discuss embassy threat - U.S. - Stripes
They smell obabbles fear...
US to temporarily shut down embassies around the world Sunday amid security concerns | Fox News
They smell obabbles fear...
US to temporarily shut down embassies around the world Sunday amid security concerns | Fox News
Nobody takes this jack off seriously, not even ragtag terrorist groups fear him. They know as well as we do if obie ever got a meeting with the top leaders of al-qaeda the first thing he would do is bow to them.
It was exactly the right thing to do....I would urge us to reduce the number of embassies and consulates permanently...what are we gaining by having any of them open?
It was exactly the right thing to do....I would urge us to reduce the number of embassies and consulates permanently...what are we gaining by having any of them open?
