US and UK pull staff out of Yemen amid terror alert

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

6 August 2013 Last updated at 16:21 GMT

The US and UK governments have withdrawn diplomatic staff from Yemen and urged their citizens to leave amid concerns over security threats.

It follows the sudden closure of 20 US embassies and consulates on Sunday.

This was prompted by intercepted conversations between two senior al-Qaeda figures, including top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, US media said.

The Pentagon said the US Air Force was flying workers out of the capital, Sanaa, on Tuesday morning.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23585923

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From the same link...

Analysis

Adbullah Ghorab
BBC News, Sanaa

The Yemeni capital Sanaa is experiencing unprecedented security measures. The interior ministry has deployed hundreds of armoured military vehicles to secure the presidential palace, vital infrastructural buildings and Western embassies in the capital.

A security source confirmed to the BBC that Yemeni intelligence services had discovered that dozens of al-Qaeda members had arrived in Sanaa over the past few days in preparation for the implementation of a large plot. The source described the plot as dangerous and as including explosions and suicide attacks aimed at Western ambassadors and foreign embassies in Yemen, in addition to operations aimed at the Yemeni military headquarters.

A Yemeni military source said the interior ministry had prepared a plan, in co-ordination with the Yemeni intelligence organisations and the anti-terrorism forces, involving "a pre-emptive strike against certain cells suspected of having relations with al-Qaeda, with the aim of thwarting the attack plans".

The source revealed the intensive co-ordination and exchange of information that exists between the Yemeni intelligence forces and those of the West and the Gulf nations, regarding threats from al-Qaeda.

[AgingAmerican]

1. It's the Quaedas!

The Quaedas are coming!

[msongs]

2. thousands of drone executions for nothing. oh well nt

[OnyxCollie]

3. Last time we heard this kind of "chatter"

was in the summer of '07, when hearings on domestic surveillance were being conducted.

I've seen this movie before.

Chertoff’s Gut Says Summer Terrorist Attack
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/chertoffs_gut_says_summer_terrorist_attack/

Fearing complacency among the American people over possible terror threats, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago Tuesday that the nation faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer. “I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk,” Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune‘s editorial board in an unusually blunt and frank assessment of America’s terror threat level.

“Summertime seems to be appealing to them,” he said of al-Qaeda. “We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities.”

Still, Chertoff said there are not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the current threat levels nationwide. And he indicated that his remarks were based on “a gut feeling” formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaeda statements, and intelligence he did not disclose. There is an assessment “not of a specific threat, but of increased vulnerability,” he added.

[Kolesar]

4. ^cultured cynicism

without much to back it up

[OnyxCollie]

5. Rah! Rah! Rah! Goooooo Obama!

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Kolesar]

6. You must find this to be stimulating

But you are not making good use of your day

[OnyxCollie]

7. You are partially correct.

I do not find this to be stimulating, and I am not making good use of my day.

I will fix that now.

[Turborama]

8. Yemen denounces U.S. evacuation of some embassy staff as aiding extremists

By Adam Baron
McClatchy Foreign Staff
Posted: Tuesday, Aug. 06, 2013

SANAA, Yemen Yemeni officials on Tuesday sharply denounced the United States’ decision to evacuate some of its staff from its embassy in the country in the first sign of a split between allies over the Obama administration’s reaction to what U.S. officials say is one of the most specific terrorism threats in years.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Yemen said it “appreciates foreign governments’ concern for the safety of their citizens.” But it added that the decision by the United States and Great Britain to evacuate “embassy staff serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism.”

“Yemen has taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions in the capital,” the statement said. “Yemen remains strongly committed to the global effort to counter the threats of al Qaida and its affiliates.”

The statement seemed to suggest that Yemen’s government views as unnecessary the U.S. decision to close its embassies in Sanaa and 20 other countries over the weekend and to keep the closures in place in 16 nations for the remainder of the week. But analysts in the United States said the U.S. actions, which have unfolded over five days, suggested that U.S. officials were truly concerned.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/06/4218431/yemen-denounces-us-evacuation.html

[Pterodactyl]

9. With friends like that, who needs Yemenis?

[Turborama]

10. LOL! DUzy material!