U.S. Evacuates Consulate In Pakistan
The United States has evacuated another diplomatic outpost in response to threats of terrorism:
The State Department has ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. Government personnel from the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, due to threats against the post.
“We are undertaking this drawdown due to concerns about credible threat information specific to the U.S. Consulate in Lahore,” a senior State Department official said in a statement.
Most officials have been moved to the capital city of Islamabad. The evacuation comes after a different, more local threat stream than the current threat emanating from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, the official confirmed. That threat has led to the closure of 19 embassies and consulates until Saturday.
The State Department also updated its general travel warning for the country, urging all Americans to “defer all non-essential travel” to Pakistan.
The warning lists a litany of concerns beyond the new Lahore threat, focusing on the fact that “the presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups poses a potential danger to U.S. citizens throughout Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, there are 19 other U.S. installations that remain closed due to these threats until at least tomorrow. There is not word on whether those closing will be extended, but one wonders how long that can actually last. Keeping embassies closed is hardly a sign of strength, and isn’t really something that can be done a long term basis without causing some serious logistical problems.
274 to go.
“Al Qaeda on the run” was correct. What we should have asked was which way. Turns out the are on the run toward us rather than away.
But the world wanted a weaker, less bothersome United States. How they like the “reset”.
There’s always the possibility the world just wanted a USA that played by the same international rules that we hold other countries to.
And Republicans obliged them by waging jihad on the President.
@JKB:
Most of the foreign far left people and media that I know were in ecstasy mode with the Iraq War, because they could see THOUSANDS of American soldiers and contractors being killed. The Iraq War was the moment that showed to everyone that hates the United States that they United States could be beaten in a war.
And I think that´s pretty difficult for the United States to be directly involved in war without enduring casualties that make the country look as weaker, not stronger. There are already people pointing out that the SD is closing so many embassies because there is no intelligence inside the Al Qaeda – there are no agents on the ground, and no arrested Al Qaeda people.to give intelligence because the US is relying on drones to kill(Not arrest) them.
@anjin-san:
Yes, because having an opinion other than that of the government is clearly traitorous.