US to close embassies Egypt , Libya , Iraq , Israel for Sunday August 4 , 2013 ( and maybe longer ) - due to Al Qaeda threats in Middle East ? So , which Al Qaeda is this threat coming from ? Can't be the Al Qaeda the US Military contracts with in Afghanistan...... Does Al Qaeda have a special gift for Obama's 52 birthday on Sunday ?

US to close some embassies around world on Sunday for security fears

US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan

Thu Aug 1, 2013 7:9PM

An unspecified number of US embassies and consulates around the world will be closed due to security fears, the State Department says.

"The Department of State has instructed certain US embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on Sunday, August 4," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Thursday.

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.

Harf did not say how many facilities would close or in what region. She added that the missions may remain closed for additional days.

The American official did not say what threat has led the State Department to adopt such a measure.

A senior official told ABC News that the embassies will close in response to "a specific threat against a U.S. embassy or consulate."

The State Department came under fire last year after the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi was attacked on September 11, leading to the death of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

US to close embassies over security fears

Unspecified number of embassies around the world would suspend operations on Sunday as "precautionary" step. Last Modified: 02 Aug 2013 00:02

The United States has said it would 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. Several US missions in predominantly Muslim countries normally open on Sunday, including those in Cairo, Baghdad and Cairo. "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.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-31/us-military-has-awarded-contracts-al-qaeda-afghanistan

The U.S. Military Has Awarded Contracts To Al-Qaeda In Afghanistan

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/31/2013 21:29 -0400

• Afghanistan
 
• Barack Obama
 
• None

Submitted by Michael Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

I suppose it just wasn’t enough that our allies,“the rebels” in Syria, have significant Al-Qaeda elements to them. No, we are the USA! USA! Best country ever. Defender of human rights. City on a hill. We must do far more than that. So we did.

This story below from Bloomberg, highlights a 236-page report by the U.S. Army Suspension and Debarment Office, which shows that military contracts have been granted to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Yep, this is exactly what happens when an empire gets too big, too corrupt, and ends up in the hands of a bunch of sociopaths. From Bloomberg:

Supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan have been getting U.S. military contracts, and American officials are citing “due process rights” as a reason not to cancel the agreements,according to an independent agency monitoring spending.

“I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract,” Sopko said.

The 236-page report and Sopko’s summary provide one of the watchdog agency’s most critical appraisals of U.S. performance in helping to build a stable Afghanistan as the Pentagon prepares to withdraw combat troops by the end of next year.

The U.S. has 60,000 troops in Afghanistan, with plans to reduce the number to 34,000 by February. President Barack Obama hasn’t decided how many to keep in the country after 2014 to train Afghan forces and engage in anti-terrorist missions.

“Anti-terrorist missions.” Like what, rewarding them lucrative contracts?

An audit showed that after 16 months, none of the agency’s essential program objectives have been reached and the money spent has mostly financed workshops and training sessions.The project is aimed at bolstering Afghanistan’s government before troop withdrawals planned for next year.

“It’s troubling that after 16 months, this program has not issued its first community grant,” Sopko said. “Rather, it has spent almost $50 million, about a quarter of the total program budget, on conferences, overhead and workshops.”

Regarding the 43 cases of contractors with militant connections, Sopko said the Army should “enforce the rule of common sense” in its suspension and debarment program.

“They may be enemies of the United States but that is not enough to keep them from getting government contracts,” according to the agency’s report.

Someone’s definitely lining their pockets... and it’s not just the “terrorists.”

Full article