US posts in 19 countries to remain closed amid terror "chatter"
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the decision to keep the embassies and consulates shuttered is a sign of an “abundance of caution” and is “not an indication of a new threat”.
Lawmakers, though, said the intercepted chatter suggested that a major terrorist attack was in the planning stages. One lawmaker said the chatter was specific as to certain dates and the scope of the operation.
Psaki said the continued closures are “merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees, including local employees, and visitors to our facilities.”
Diplomatic facilities will remain closed in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, among other countries, through Saturday, Aug 10.
The State Department announcement yesterday added closures of four African sites, in Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.
The US also decided to reopen some posts yesterday, including those in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Baghdad.
The Obama administration announced on Friday that the posts would be closed over the weekend and the State Department announced a global travel alert, warning that al Qaeda or its allies might target either US government or private American interests.
The intercepted intelligence foreshadowing an attack on US or Western interests is evidence of one of the gravest threats to the United States since 9/11, according to lawmakers who made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows.
“This is the most serious threat that I’ve seen in the last several years,” Sen Saxby Chambliss of Georgia told NBC’s Meet the Press. “Chatter means conversation among terrorists about the planning that’s going on — very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11.”
Chambliss said it was that chatter that prompted the Obama administration to order the Sunday closure of 22 embassies and consulates.
Meanwhile, Britain and France extended the closure of their embassies in Yemen yesterday.
Britain, which had said last week that it would close its embassy in Yemen on Sunday and Monday, said the mission would now reopen on Thursday. France, which closed its Yemen embassy yesterday, said the mission would also reopen on Thursday.
