And what better way to celebrate the end of the holy month then by blowing up an embassy:
Quote
US to close embassies over security fears
Unspecified number of embassies around the world will suspend operations on Sunday as "precautionary" step.
Last Modified: 02 Aug 2013 16:07
The United States has said it will close an unspecified number of embassies around the world on Sunday over security concerns.
State department spokeswoman Marie Harf on Thursday called the step "precautionary" but declined to specify the threat or list which missions would be closed.
But a senior state department official later told reporters they were those that would normally have been open on Sunday, including several US missions in predominantly Muslim countries such as Egypt and Iraq.
"The Department of State has instructed certain US embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on Sunday, August 4," Harf told reporters.
The decision was taken "out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting our installations," she said.
US caution
Harf said that the embassies would be closed specifically on Sunday, with an assessment afterwards on whether to reopen them.
"It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well," she said.
Harf declined to specify from which part of the world the threat was detected.
Government offices are nearly always closed in the US on Sunday, which is the start of the work week in many Muslim-majority countries.
The US has been especially cautious about security since an attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11 last year.
The attack killed four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, and led critics in Congress to accuse the state department of insufficient security.
The US State Department site has the full list of embassies:
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U.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
U.S. Embassy Algiers, Algeria
U.S. Embassy Amman, Jordan
U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq
U.S. Embassy Cairo, Egypt
U.S. Consulate Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
U.S. Embassy Djibouti, Djibouti
U.S. Embassy Dhaka, Bangladesh
U.S. Embassy Doha, Qatar
U.S. Consulate Dubai, United Arab Emirates
U.S. Consulate Erbil, Iraq
U.S. Consulate Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
U.S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan
U.S. Embassy Khartoum, Sudan
U.S. Embassy Kuwait City, Kuwait
U.S. Embassy Manama, Bahrain
U.S. Embassy Muscat, Oman
U.S. Embassy Nouakchott, Mauritania
U.S. Embassy Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
U.S. Embassy Sana'a, Yemen
U.S. Embassy Tripoli, Libya
I also see they put Saudi Arabia on the Travel Advisory list last week.
One would think Ramadan, with all the fasting and partying, would be a relatively safe month out there. Algeria kind of catches me by surprise, why it while Tunisia and Morocco remain safe?
Quote from: Valmy on August 02, 2013, 12:03:24 PM
One would think Ramadan, with all the fasting and partying, would be a relatively safe month out there.
It's the opposite, the gathering crowds for the partying provides plenty of targets and the religious mood of the month provides plenty of martyrs. That's one reason why this past month in Iraq was the deadliest since the end of the surge.
QuoteAlgeria kind of catches me by surprise, why it while Tunisia and Morocco remain safe?
I don't know about Algeria. Morocco didn't seem particularly religious to me when I was there. All the madrassas shut down at the end of the colonial period (and besides the French are the hated westerners.) It is a surprise that Tunisia isn't on the list given the recent assassination of some of their liberal politicians.
Quote from: Valmy on August 02, 2013, 12:03:24 PM
One would think Ramadan, with all the fasting and partying, would be a relatively safe month out there.
Not the same sort of thing but I was in Morocco during Ramadan and it was pretty fractious. It was during September, which was hot, and people couldn't drink, eat or smoke all day. I saw at least one fight kick off every day. Normally early evening as people were heading home for food. I think it's understandable that by that time everyone's just a bit pissed off and on edge.
QuoteAlgeria kind of catches me by surprise, why it while Tunisia and Morocco remain safe?
Tunisia's an interesting exception giving the problems they've had. Morocco makes sense, very strong secret police tend to keep extremists on a very tight leash.
I'm more surprised by Bangladesh being on what looks like a very Arab-world list, but, say, Pakistan isn't on the list.
Quote from: Valmy on August 02, 2013, 12:03:24 PM
One would think Ramadan, with all the fasting and partying, would be a relatively safe month out there.
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. The Tet holiday's like the Fourth of July, Christmas and New Year all rolled into one. Every zipperhead in Nam, North and South, will be banging gongs, barking at the moon and visiting his dead relatives."
Well that was different as it was carried out by Godless Commies to whom nothing is sacred.
I thought Algeria was deteriorating. Maybe it's not so bad now since their southern jihadis went to Mali, but I was under the impression they was a civil war just under the surface that could bubble up.
OMG BENGHAZI IS NOT ON THE LIST !!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on August 02, 2013, 02:11:56 PM
OMG BENGHAZI IS NOT ON THE LIST !!!!!!!!!!!!
Hopefully there will be an investigation.
No embassy there. :P
I something happens, it proves that Obama is incompetent. If nothing happens it also proves Obama is incompetent.
Quote from: Razgovory on August 02, 2013, 02:41:20 PM
I something happens, it proves that Obama is incompetent. If nothing happens it also proves Obama is incompetent.
If nothing happened then PRISM worked. America is saved.
Quote from: Savonarola on August 02, 2013, 02:46:02 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on August 02, 2013, 02:41:20 PM
I something happens, it proves that Obama is incompetent. If nothing happens it also proves Obama is incompetent.
If nothing happened then PRISM worked. America is saved.
Nope, just is Obama wasting tax payer money jumping at shadows.
Quote from: Razgovory on August 02, 2013, 02:51:47 PM
Nope, just is Obama wasting tax payer money jumping at shadows.
I'm sorry that you feel that way.
Quote from: derspiess on August 02, 2013, 12:28:39 PM
Quote from: Valmy on August 02, 2013, 12:03:24 PM
One would think Ramadan, with all the fasting and partying, would be a relatively safe month out there.
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. The Tet holiday's like the Fourth of July, Christmas and New Year all rolled into one. Every zipperhead in Nam, North and South, will be banging gongs, barking at the moon and visiting his dead relatives."
:lol:
Quote from: derspiess on August 02, 2013, 12:28:39 PM
Quote from: Valmy on August 02, 2013, 12:03:24 PM
One would think Ramadan, with all the fasting and partying, would be a relatively safe month out there.
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. The Tet holiday's like the Fourth of July, Christmas and New Year all rolled into one. Every zipperhead in Nam, North and South, will be banging gongs, barking at the moon and visiting his dead relatives."
There's been bigger errors in judgement.
"With the 2nd choice of the 1998 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers select Quarterback, Washington State University, Ryan Leaf."
QuoteUS and UK pull staff out of Yemen amid terror alert
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.
A global travel alert said: "The US Department of State warns US citizens of the high security threat level in Yemen due to terrorist activities and civil unrest.
"The department urges US citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those US citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately."
It added that "the security threat level in Yemen is extremely high".
It comes hours after a drone strike killed four suspected al-Qaeda militants in the country overnight, a senior US official has confirmed to the BBC.
In a separate incident, tribesmen say they have shot down a Yemeni military helicopter, killing at least six troops.
The BBC's Abdullah Ghorab, in Sanaa, says the Yemeni capital has been experiencing unprecedented security measures, with hundreds of armoured vehicles deployed.
Our correspondent says a security source confirmed 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.
Why al-Qaeda in Yemen scares the West
The source described the plot as dangerous, and suggested it was to include explosions and suicide attacks aimed at Western diplomatic missions and Yemeni military headquarters.
A source in the Yemeni air force has told the BBC that Yemeni war planes have made regular flights to monitor movements of cells believed to belong to al-Qaeda in the areas of Shaouan and Thahban in Sanaa.
Jail breaks
Both the White House and the US state department have said the current threat comes from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but have refused to divulge further details.
According to the New York Times, the US intercepted communications between Zawahiri and the group's head in Yemen, Nasser al-Wuhayshi.
The paper said the conversation represented one of the most serious plots since the 9/11 attacks.
Washington earlier said the closures in North Africa and the Middle East were "out of an abundance of caution".
A number of US diplomatic posts in the region - including in Sanaa - will remain closed until Saturday.
In a statement on its website, the UK Foreign Office said: "Due to increased security concerns, all staff in the British embassy have been temporarily withdrawn and the embassy will remain closed until staff are able to return."
It advises against all travel to the country.
Several European countries have also temporarily shut missions in Yemen.
Officials have advised particular vigilance during the festival period surrounding Eid - the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - warning that "tensions could be heightened". Eid will begin on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the sighting of the new moon.
Meanwhile, Interpol issued a separate global security alert at the weekend, citing jail breaks linked to al-Qaeda in nine countries.
The international policing organisation said "hundreds of terrorists" had been freed during breakouts in countries including Iraq, Libya and Pakistan in the past month.
A US state department global travel alert, issued last week, is also in force until the end of August.
AQAP, the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda, has also been blamed for the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit and for explosives-laden parcels that were intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.
Yemon.