U.S., World: The U.S. and U.K. say “screw it,” close embassies in Yemen
- There are indications that al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy. And what we do is to take every measure possible to ensure the safety of our diplomats and citizens abroad, so the decision was made to close the embassy.
- Assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism John Brennan • Regarding the government’s decision to close its Yemeni base. (Britain did the same, by the way.) The country, which is becoming a large hub for terrorism, has been the scene of a major battlefront in the war on al-Qaeda in the last few weeks, and the U.S. isn’t taking any chances. source