The State Department announced Friday that it will close nearly two dozen embassies in the Middle East and southern Asia, a move taken out of “abundance of caution” from threats believed to be al-Qaida terror plots, Pete Williams, NBC News justice correspondent, said Friday on Andrea Mitchell Reports.
“There is no information here suggesting that this is any kind of attack planned for the homeland,” he said. “So it is more of an overseas threat.”
The source is considered credible, but the information is said to be vague–an unspecified threat to attack U.S. interests or U.S. diplomatic posts overseas–starting this Sunday and possibly lasting through the end of the month, said Williams, adding that a worldwide travel alert was issued until Aug. 31.
“It is true, the government gets tons of threats every day,” Dan Benjamin, former coordinator for counterterrorism at the State Department, said on the show. “The overwhelming majority of them are not serious, a few you have to take seriously, and a few more you have to take very seriously.” Watch the video above for more information.
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