Rice trying to avoid Benghazi repeat, as al Qaeda leader pushes for new attack: report

EPA

An armed man holding his rifle as he stands next to buildings set on fire at the US consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012.

National Security Adviser Susan Rice is playing a driving role in the decision to shutter US embassies and consulates over a major terror threat, sources tell Fox News, claiming the former diplomat is trying to avoid a repeat of the deadly Benghazi terror attack nearly a year ago.

Lawmakers are describing the latest threat as among the most serious they've seen in years.

Sources tell Fox News that the closure of embassies comes as al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri demands that key leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula step up their activities in the wake of recent killings of top terrorists.

Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were slain in a Sept. 11, 2012 terror attack on the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya.

AP

Susan Rice

One Middle East diplomat tells Fox News that al-Zawahiri has been "pressuring" AQAP, and that the pressure that local al Qaeda figures have been subjected to -- aimed at getting them to launch new terrorist attacks on Western and American targets -- is "unprecedented." This is what has led to the extraordinary volume of "chatter" picked up by US intelligence following a period of months of "absolute quietness" on terrorist phone lines, computer outlets, websites and other channels.

The intel prompted the United States to close 22 embassies yesterday across the Muslim world, issue a global travel alert and put US military forces on high alert. Nineteen embassies were to remain closed at least through Saturday.

The Transportation Security Administration also has initiated extra security measures at US airports "out of an abundance of caution" during this period of high alert, an administration official told The Post.

The measures, however, are taking place behind the scenes and likely won't be noticed by travelers in the US, the official said.

Sources say that Rice has been a driving force in the United States' response to this threat. She led a meeting on Saturday on the threat with top officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Today's report comes as recent terrorist "chatter" that triggered a worldwide alert is eerily similar to the warnings that went unheeded before 9/11, a congressional intelligence leader said yesterday.

"There's been an awful lot of chatter out there . . . very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"Obviously, we don't know what the location is. That's part of the problem," Chambliss (R-Ga.) told NBC's "Meet the Press. "But what we have heard is some specifics on what is intended to be done and some individuals who are making plans, such as we saw before 9/11."

Senior US officials say intercepted communications show al Qaeda leaders boasting that the attack is "going to be big" and "strategically significant," ABC News reported.

"The part that is alarming is the confidence they showed while communicating and the air of certainty," said one official, noting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula even has a media plan.

Intel officials haven't determined the type of attack but are convinced that al Qaeda is planning to hit a Western nation with something "enormous" and that operatives are already in position.

"This is your wake-up call," Rep. Pete King (R-LI), chair of the House subcommittee on counterterrorism, said on ABC's "This Week." "al Qaeda is in many ways stronger than it was before 9/11 because it's mutated and it spread."

Despite domestic precautions, the alert is focused on the Mideast, North Africa and South Asia. The threat level is especially high in Yemen.

The alert casts doubt on President Obama's claims that al Qaeda is "on the run," but bolsters the defense of National Security Agency surveillance programs revealed in June by leaker Edward Snowden.

To read more, go to Fox News. Additional reporting by S.A. Miller.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Rice trying to avoid Benghazi repeat, as al Qaeda leader pushes for new attack: report

Dengan url

http://solusiagarsehat.blogspot.com/2013/08/rice-trying-to-avoid-benghazi-repeat-as.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Rice trying to avoid Benghazi repeat, as al Qaeda leader pushes for new attack: report

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Rice trying to avoid Benghazi repeat, as al Qaeda leader pushes for new attack: report

sebagai sumbernya