Danger Imminent - US Embassy shutdown

[Stillhomewardbound]

I am asking myself if this story not so much about imminent attacks as the US engaging in a propagandist exercise to help persuade the world that they are right to monitor the entire world's neither telecommunications and internet traffic. After all, if they are monitoring the key players daily chat, why on earth would they want their targets to know? I simply ask.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23583859

[Bryn]

That guy Jay Carney is straight out of "In the Loop".

[PJPJ]

Little sympathy from press around the world, according to this selection from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23578046

[Resurrection Man]

Little sympathy from press around the world, according to this selection from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23578046

Predictable and biased news coverage.

As predictable as the OP.

A more charitable interpretation would be that there is a genuine threat.

But then when did paranoia ever not get in the way of objectivity?

[teamsaint]

So you don't think that Western governments run fear driven agendas, RM?

There are a lot of threats to people's welfare, and terrorism from the Middle east is pretty low on the list. Our own governments are responsible for a great deal of danger and threat.

[Petrushka]

After all, if they are monitoring the key players daily chat, why on earth would they want their targets to know?]

A puzzling question indeed. The key players will realise their cover is blown and go to ground and try another day. Assuming that the whole thing is genuine of course. Meanwhile, after the alert everyone can see that nothing actually happened thus leading to cynicism and complacency.

During the Second World War, Churchill went to great lengths, even to sacrificing Coventry, to ensure that the Germans could never know that the Enigma code had been broken.

[Mr Pee]

A puzzling question indeed. The key players will realise their cover is blown and go to ground and try another day. Assuming that the whole thing is genuine of course. Meanwhile, after the alert everyone can see that nothing actually happened thus leading to cynicism and complacency.

During the Second World War, Churchill went to great lengths, even to sacrificing Coventry, to ensure that the Germans could never know that the Enigma code had been broken.

Well times have moved on, in case you hadn't noticed. I am sure that the US would not go to such lengths if they did not believe there was a credible threat. Perhaps you would rather they did nothing and hoped for the best? If they are aware of a threat, but unable at this point to locate the key players, then surely the next best option to ensure the safety of their people is to close the embassy temporarily?

The conspiracy theorists really are out in force on these boards nowadays.

[An_Inspector_Calls]

The conspiracy theorists really are out in force on these boards nowadays.

They certainly are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Blitz

Coventry and Ultra

In his 1974 book The Ultra Secret, Group Captain F. W. Winterbotham asserted that the British government had advance warning of the attack from Ultra: intercepted German radio messages encrypted with the Enigma cipher machine and decoded by British cryptoanalysts at Bletchley Park. He further claimed that Winston Churchill ordered that no defensive measures should be taken to protect Coventry, lest the Germans suspect that their cipher had been broken. Winterbotham was a key figure for Ultra; he supervised the "Special Liaison Officers" who delivered Ultra material to field commanders.

However, Winterbotham's claim has been rejected by other Ultra participants and by historians. They state that while Churchill was indeed aware that a major bombing raid would take place, no one knew what the target would be.

Peter Calvocoressi was head of the Air Section at Bletchley Park, which translated and analysed all deciphered Luftwaffe messages. He wrote "Ultra never mentioned Coventry... Churchill, so far from pondering whether to save Coventry or safeguard Ultra, was under the impression that the raid was to be on London."

Scientist R. V. Jones, who led the British side in the Battle of the Beams, wrote that "Enigma signals to the X-beam stations were not broken in time," and that he was unaware that Coventry was the intended target. Furthermore, a technical mistake caused jamming countermeasures to be ineffective. Jones also noted that Churchill returned to London that afternoon, which indicated that Churchill believed that London was the likely target for the raid.

[Richard Barrett]

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/07/pissing-off-friends-is-a-doomed-strategy/

The latest scare stories about overheard communications between the supposedly many-times-slain Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Yemen branch of al Qaeda, allegedly calling for attacks on US embassies and Americans abroad, stories which have led to the US closing its Middle Eastern embassies for a week, and urging all Americans to leave Yemen, are a pathetically transparent effort to both terrorize Americans again while touting the alleged skills of the NSA. In fact, closing the embassies for a week accomplishes precisely nothing, since any actual terrorist or group of terrorists planning an attack can just postpone the action until the embassies are open again for business. As for Americans leaving — advising people to make an unplanned and anxious run for the exits just opens them to attack as they will be leaving familiar surroundings where neighbors can help and protect them, for transit points where they will be concentrated, obvious, and more attractive and vulnerable as targets, whether for a real, orchestrated or “false flag” attack.

We have slid back to the equivalent of the old days when President Bush’s spanking new Homeland Security (sic) Agency would periodically announce a change in the color-coded “threat alert” system, which would then get broadcast by a compliant news media along with the weather reports each day. Remember?: “Thursday’s forecast: threat of thunderstorms, high winds and the terrorist threat alert is Red. Friday’s weather will be sunny with occasional clouds and an terror threat level of Orange.”

There’s no utility in any of this, from the point of view of public safety. It’s all a brazen attempt to win public support for the ongoing establishment — now pretty much complete — of a total surveillance national security state.

[Sydney Grew]

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/...omed-strategy/ . . . urging all Americans to leave . . . [/I]

What - are the Yankees going home - can it be true?

[Pabmusic]

What - are the Yankees going home - can it be true?

If it is, then they probably don't agree with the OP.

[scottycelt]

This is no mere 'threat' ... it has already happened!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19587068

If one feared one's home were about to be torched, and those inside ending up being burnt to a frazzle, would it be a mere 'propagandist' ploy against the suspected arsonists to pre-empt the expected situation and temporarily seek a safer refuge?.

Oh the weird, whacky world of the 'conspiracy theorists'.

[eighthobstruction]

I thought it was very strange that they revealed HOW they obtained this information[sic]....not unusual these days especially it seems when concerning Yemen (I can remember 2 other such occasions when they did this ref Yemen)....and still they cannot find this master bomb maker ....

[eighthobstruction]

Are not the CIA and MI5/6 conspiracy theorists, hiders of clues, obscuring of mirrors....??

[amateur51]

This is no mere 'threat' ... it has already happened!

That was nearly a year ago, scotty.