Strategic Command and State Dept. confirm: Russia is building UP its nuke arsenal

For many years, this writer has been warning against any reductions in the US nuclear arsenal, based on the fact that Russia was building up its own, China’s nuclear arsenal’s size was unknown and likely to be in the thousands of warheads, and North Korea’s nuclear capabilities were steadily increasing.

Accordingly, this writer has always consistently opposed any cuts in the US nuclear arsenal, including those mandated by the New START treaty, and has argued vocally against proposals by Obama admin officials and non-governmental arms control advocates like the “Arms Control Association” to cut the nuclear deterrent even further.

As time passed, more and more evidence emerged proving this writer’s claims – and proving nuclear disarmament advocates wrong.

But last Wednesday, the most powerful piece of evidence arrived: State Department cables from Moscow and Congressional testimony by Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the Strategic Command, in charge of America’s entire nuclear commander.

According to US State Department diplomats in Moscow, who monitor Russia daily, Moscow is “vastly increasing” its nuclear arsenal and aims to reach “nuclear superiority over, not nuclear parity with, the US”, as Bill Gertz reports in his newest column in the Washington Free Beacon.

This is consistent with previous media and think-tank reports that Russia was building up its nuclear arsenal, was building additional strategic Tu-160 bombers, and had ordered 400 new ICBMs. The State Department and Bill Gertz have now simply confirmed this.

Thus, we have irrefutable evidence that a) Russia is dramatically increasing its nuclear arsenal, and b) its buildup is aimed at achieving nuclear superiority over, not parity with, the US. Which also proves that  New START is a treasonous treaty highly dangerous to US and allied security, because it requires nuclear arsenal cuts only of the US, while allowing Russia to dramatically increase its own arsenal.

Russia currently has:

• About 414-434 ICBMs capable of delivering at least 1,684 (and probably more) nuclear warheads to the CONUS, with its fleet of 68-75 SS-18 Satan ICBMs alone being able to deliver 10 warheads each (750 in total);


• 13 ballistic missile submarines, each armed with 16 ballistic missiles (20 in the case of the sole Typhoon class boat), each missile being itself capable of delivering 4-8 warheads (12 in the future, when Bulava and Liner missiles replace the currently-used Skiff) to the CONUS even if launched from Russian ports (Moscow has had such long-ranged missiles since the late 1980s), meaning over 1,400 warheads in total deliverable by Russia’s strategic submarine fleet;


• 251 strategic bombers (Tu-95, Tu-160, Tu-22M), each capable of delivering between 7 (Tu-95) and 12 (Tu-22M) nuclear warheads to the CONUS. Russian bombers have, in recent years, repeatedly flown close to, and sometimes into, US airspace.


• 2,800 strategic nuclear warheads in total, of which 1,500 are now deployed – and more will be deployed in the future – on the forementioned ICBMs, submarines, and bombers.


• Over 20 attack and cruise missile submarines, each carrying nuclear-armed cruise missiles (one such submarine of the Akula class popped up last year near the US submarine base at King’s Bay, GA).


• The world’s largest tactical nuclear arsenal, with around 4,000 warheads deliverable by a very wide range of systems, from short-range ballistic missiles to artillery pieces to tactical aircraft (Su-24, Su-25, the Flanker family, Su-34), to surface ships using nuclear depth charges.


• Illegal (banned by the INF Treaty) intermediate-range nuclear-armed missiles (Yars-M, R-500, Iskander-M) that can target any place in Europe and China. (Nonetheless, despite these facts, the Obama administration and NATO are too afraid to recognize and name Russia as an INF Treaty violator.)

Russia is now dramatically increasing that arsenal, as the State Department and the Strategic Command’s leader have now confirmed. In addition to deploying more warheads and building more bombers from stockpiled components, it is:

• Deploying new submarine-launched ballistic missiles (the Bulava and the Liner) that can carry 10-12 warheads each. Russia plans to procure around 140-150 missiles of each type; when these are fully deployed on Russia’s 13 ballistic missile subs, that fleet will be able to carry 2,000-2,200 nuclear warheads all by itself.


• Deploying additional Yars-M, R-500, and Iskander-M IRBMs – in violation of the INF Treaty.

Russia is also steadily modernizing its existing nuclear arsenal and fleet of delivery systems. It is:

• Developing and deploying a new class of ballistic missile submarines capable of carrying missiles such as the Bulava and the Liner. Two of them have already been commissioned and at least eight in total will be built.


• Developing a next-generation intercontinental bomber, slated to first fly in 2020 – before the USAF’s planned Long Range Strike Bomber will.


• Developing a new submarine-launched cruise missile, the Kaliber;


• Procuring and deploying a new air-launched cruise missile, the Kh-101/102;


• Developing and deploying three new ICBM types – the light Yars (RS-24, SS-29) to replace the single-warhead Topol and Topol-M missiles, the midweight Avangard/Rubezh (slated to replace SS-19 Stiletto missiles), and the Sarmat (AKA Son of Satan), intended to replace the SS-18 Satan heavy ICBMs.


• Developing a rail-based ICBM type on top of the forementioned ICBM classes.


• Developing a hypersonic missile that could carry nuclear warheads to any point on Earth in an hour and easily penetrate US missile defenses.

Note that the RS-24 (SS-29) Yars ICBMs will be able to carry 10 warheads each, whereas the missiles they’re replacing – the Topol (SS-25 Sickle) and Topol-M (SS-27 Sickle-B) – can carry only one warhead. Therefore, as these missiles enter service, the warhead carriage capacity of the Russian ICBM fleet will greatly increase beyond the (already huge) number of 1,684 warheads immediately deliverable to the CONUS.

By 2018, 80%, and by 2021, 100% of Russia’s ICBMs will be missiles of the new generation – the he Avangard/Rubezh, and the Sarmat heavy ICBM, as well as the forementioned rail-based ICBM.

By contrast, the US, under the Obama administration, has unilaterally retired and scrapped its nuclear-armed Tomahawk submarine-launched cruise missiles and their warheads, plans to kill the procurement of conventional Tomahawks, has no program to replace its ICBMs or air-launched cruise missiles, has delayed the induction of its next-generation bomber until the mid-2020s (and plans to procure only 80-100 of these crucial aircraft), has no plans to develop or deploy mobile ICBMs or medium- or short-range ballistic missiles, and has delayed its ballistic missile submarine replacement program. And even when these boats enter service, there will be only 12 of them, each carrying 16 missiles as opposed to the current Ohio class carrying 24 missiles each.

This is as simple as “Russia and China have nuclear-armed submarine- and ground-launched cruise missiles and IRBMs, the US does not.”

Which means that, even without further cuts, the US will be at a nuclear disadvantage vis-a-vis Russia (and China).

Russia would’ve been a huge nuclear threat necessitating the maintenance of the US nuclear arsenal at no less than its current size even WITHOUT this nuclear buildup. With it, it is becoming an even greater nuclear threat, thus necessitating that the US nuclear arsenal be increased, too.

This isn’t just Zbigniew Mazurak speaking; this is the State Department (through its diplomats in Moscow) and the Strategic Command’s leader, Adm. Haney (who is in charge of all US nuclear weapons), speaking. As Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon reports:

“The blunt comments [by Adm. Haney - ZM] came in response to reports that Russian strategic nuclear forces recently held a large-scale nuclear exercise coinciding with saber-rattling conventional military deployments close to Russia’s eastern border with Ukraine.

Haney said the Russians conduct periodic nuclear war games and in 2013 produced a YouTube video that highlighted “every aspect of their capability.” (…)

State Department cables sent to Washington earlier this year included dire warnings that Russia is vastly increasing its nuclear arsenal under policies similar to those Moscow followed during the Soviet era. The cables, according to officials familiar with them, also stated that the Russian strategic nuclear forces buildup appears aimed at achieving nuclear superiority over the United States and not nuclear parity.

The nuclear modernization has been “continuous” and includes adding fixed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and mobile ICBMs, along with a new class of strategic missile submarines, Haney said in testimony.

“Russia has articulated their value in having strategic capability, and as such, each area they have invested in both in terms of nuclear strategic capability as well as space capability and cyberspace capability in terms of things,” Haney said.

“And as a result, we have seen them demonstrate their capability through a variety of exercises and operations. They maintain their readiness of that capability on a continuous fashion. And it’s a capability I don’t see them backing away from.”

By contrast, Haney testified to the committee that U.S. nuclear forces are in urgent need of modernization to update aging nuclear weapons, delivery systems, and support and production infrastructure, most of which were made decades ago. Under budget sequestration, which could be re-imposed in 2016, U.S. nuclear force modernization will be undermined.”

These facts utterly refute any claims – including those of Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats, and other nuclear disarmament advocates like the Arms Control Association and the Ploughshares Fund – that the US has too many warheads and can afford to cut its nuclear arsenal safely, or that this arsenal is a “Cold War relic” cutting which is “overdue and in the national interest.”

These despicable traitors wanted – and still want – America to cut its nuclear arsenal further and unilaterally, without Russian reciprocation. And for that, they should be severely punished with the maximum penalty foreseen by law for treason.

They have been blatantly lying. All of their claims, without any exception, are blatant lies. No, the US nuclear is not “too large”, “ripe for cuts”, nor a “Cold War relic.” No, its mission is not obsolete by any means – on the contrary, its mission (nuclear deterrence) is more important now than ever. No, cutting the US nuclear arsenal is not “overdue” nor “in the national interest” – it would be completely AGAINST the US national interest and utterly suicidal. It would invoke a Russian nuclear first strike on the US.

No, America cannot afford to cut its nuclear arsenal ANY FURTHER. It should increase, not cut, her nuclear arsenal.

Specifically, the US must:

• Not enter into any more arms reduction agreements ever again, especially not with countries which routinely violate such treaties, like Russia.


• Not reduce its nuclear arsenal by even one warhead and not retire any warheads except those whose service lives cannot be extended.


• Begin quickly increasing its arsenal and the production of cheap, simple plutonium-based warheads. Ample plutonium for their production can be easily obtained from spent fuel from American nuclear reactors.


• Resume nuclear testing.


• Accelerate the development of the Long-Range Strike Bomber and procure 200, not 80-100, of these aircraft; and require that they be certified as nuclear-capable from the moment they enter service.


• Quickly begin developing and procuring new, longer-ranged, stealthy replacements for the USAF’s cruise missiles as well as the Navy’s Tomahawk. The new cruise missiles should be of the same type, launchable from a wide range of platforms, and capable of delivering nuclear and conventional warheads. Their range should be at least 2,000 kms.


• Accelerate the development of hypersonic weapons. The B-52, the B-1, and the B-2 should all be made capable of launching hypersonic missiles. The HTV and Blackswift programs should also be resumed.


• Accelerate the Ohio class replacement program.


• Develop and deploy a new ICBM for the USAF, which should come in rail- and silo-based variants.


• Build more tactical nuclear warheads to reassure US allies around the world.

Once again, it must be repeated: THE US MUST NOT CUT ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL ANY FURTHER, WHETHER UNI-, BI-, OR MULTILATERALLY. PERIOD.

Conservative Daily News

Strategic Command and State Dept. confirm: Russia is building UP its nuke arsenal

Police Dept. Covers Up Its NSA-Style, Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking

Device captures private cell data from innocent third-parties not involved in investigation

Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
March 3, 2014

Florida police used a cell phone tracking device at least 200 times without a warrant because they conspired with the device manufacturer to keep its use a secret, according to the ACLU.

The stingray cell tracking device works by mimicking a real cell phone tower, tricking phones into connecting to it. Credit: Jovianeye / Wiki

Through a recent motion for public access, the ACLU determined that at least one Florida police department never told judges about its use of the cell phone tracking device, known as a “stingray,” because the department signed a non-disclosure agreement with the stingray’s manufacturer to keep its use from being publicly known.

The manufacturer, which the ACLU said was likely a Florida-based company, also retained ownership of its stingrays and only let the department borrow them, further aiding in its secrecy.

The stingray, also called a “cell tower simulator,” determines the location of a targeted cell phone by impersonating a cell tower, which tricks the targeted phone – and non-targeted cell phones in the same range – into transmitting its precise location and phone records to the stingray.

“When in use, stingrays sweep up information about innocent people and criminal suspects alike,” Nathan Freed Wessler, an ACLU attorney, reported.

The ACLU learned about the department’s use of the stingray through an ongoing court case entitled Florida v. Thomas, in which police used the device to track a stolen cell phone to the suspect’s apartment.

After forcing their way inside the apartment, the police conducted a search of the residence, found the stolen phone and arrested the suspect.

Yet the police never obtained a warrant for the search or for its use of the stingray.

“This was apparently because they had signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company that gave them the device,” Wessler wrote. “The police seem to have interpreted the agreement to bar them even from revealing their use of stingrays to judges, who we usually rely on to provide oversight of police investigations.”

“Potentially unconstitutional government surveillance on this scale should not remain hidden from the public just because a private corporation desires secrecy,” he added. “And it certainly should not be concealed from judges.”

And, according to the ACLU, other police departments are also using stingrays secretly in the same fashion, joining an ever growing list of government entities infringing upon the Fourth Amendment.

Last week it was revealed that officials in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan began working with local police to place surveillance cameras in every neighborhood.

“We are recording images that a police officer would see if he or she were standing in the same place,” the township’s director of the Office of Community Standards, Mike Radzik, said.

And several months prior, a city in New Jersey decided to counter personnel reductions in its police force by placing the public under constant surveillance.

This article was posted: Monday, March 3, 2014 at 1:33 pm

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Police Dept. Covers Up Its NSA-Style, Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking

Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors

Sheriff’s spokesperson completely distorts the truth

Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
November 23, 2013

The spokesperson for the Dallas Co., Texas sheriff completely distorted the department’s violent attack on peaceful demonstrators by stating that the deputies ordered the crowd to move and disperse when no such order was ever given prior to yesterday’s assault.

Carmen Castro, spokeswoman for Sheriff Lupe Valdez, told the Dallas Morning News that the deputies violently charged the free speech demonstrators because they were crowding “not only private citizens who were attempting to pay their respects but also equipment that was in place for the event.”

She further stated that the demonstrators was forcibly moved back after they “refused to obey.”

Yet the deputies gave no such orders to the crowd prior to their assault. As the beginning of our own footage shows, the deputies marched to the crowd with the intent to attack and nothing else.

The crowd had been waiting outside Dealey Plaza, which the City of Dallas promised to open to the public at 2:30pm.

The local mainstream media outlets are also covering for the sheriff’s dept. by spinning the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The article in the Dallas Morning News further stated that the deputies shoved the crowd down the street because they “decided they’d had enough.”

Local police, however, are effectively federalized during special events, taking orders from federal agencies such as the DHS. The deputies didn’t decide anything.

In fact, when we questioned one of the deputies after the assault, he said that he was just acting on orders from above.

After the attack, an Infowars reader e-mailed a local Dallas news station to ask why there was hardly any coverage on it.

The news spokesperson completely spun the story, suggesting that the police are “allowed” to keep people out of a “restricted area” and that the protestors were “trying to get into” an event where a ticket was required.

The area was not “restricted.” It was a public street OUTSIDE of a barricaded area.

What’s more, the Dallas Police provided the public access to the area where they were attacked. At no time were any barricades breached or removed.

This is a textbook example of government officials and media outlets working hand-in-hand to distort the truth and cover up criminality.

This article was posted: Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 12:33 pm

Tags: activism, domestic news, mainstream media, police state

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Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors

Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors

Sheriff’s spokesperson completely distorts the truth

Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
November 23, 2013

The spokesperson for the Dallas Co., Texas sheriff completely lied about the department’s violent attack on peaceful free speech demonstrators by stating that the deputies ordered the crowd to move and disperse when no such order was ever given prior to yesterday’s assault.

Carmen Castro, spokeswoman for Sheriff Lupe Valdez, told the Dallas Morning News that the deputies violently charged the demonstrators because they were crowding “not only private citizens who were attempting to pay their respects but also equipment that was in place for the event.”

She further stated that the demonstrators was forcibly moved back after they “refused to obey.”

Yet the deputies gave no orders to the crowd prior to their assault. As our own footage even shows, the deputies marched to the crowd with the intent to attack and nothing else.

The crowd who had been waiting outside the city’s John F. Kennedy 50th anniversary event, which the City of Dallas promised to open to the public at 2:30pm.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

The local mainstream media outlets are also covering for the sheriff’s dept. by spinning the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The article in the Dallas Morning News further stated that the deputies shoved the crowd down the street because they “decided they’d had enough.”

Local police, however, are effectively federalized during special events, taking orders from federal agencies such as the DHS. The deputies didn’t decide anything.

In fact, when we questioned one of the deputies after the assault, he said that he was just acting on orders from above.

After the attack, an Infowars reader e-mailed a local Dallas news station to ask why there was hardly any coverage on it.

The news spokesperson completely spun the story, suggesting that the police are “allowed” to keep people out of a “restricted area” and that the protestors were “trying to get into” an event where a ticket was required.

The area was not “restricted.” It was a public street OUTSIDE of a barricaded area.

What’s more, the Dallas Police provided the public access to the area where they were attacked. At no time were any barricades breached or removed.

This is a textbook example of government officials and media outlets working hand-in-hand to distort the truth and cover up criminality.

This article was posted: Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 1:44 pm

Tags: activism, domestic news, Mainstream Media, police state

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Prison Planet.com

Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors

Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors

Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors
http://isbigbrotherwatchingyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/79775__internet_secrecy__c6bb0b5b7ce803685f4ea949415b8bfd.jpg

Sheriff’s spokesperson completely distorts the truth

Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
November 23, 2013

The spokesperson for the Dallas Co., Texas sheriff completely distorted the department’s violent attack on peaceful demonstrators by stating that the deputies ordered the crowd to move and disperse when no such order was ever given prior to yesterday’s assault.

Carmen Castro, spokeswoman for Sheriff Lupe Valdez, told the Dallas Morning News that the deputies violently charged the free speech demonstrators because they were crowding “not only private citizens who were attempting to pay their respects but also equipment that was in place for the event.”

She further stated that the demonstrators was forcibly moved back after they “refused to obey.”

Yet the deputies gave no such orders to the crowd prior to their assault. As the beginning of our own footage shows, the deputies marched to the crowd with the intent to attack and nothing else.

The crowd had been waiting outside Dealey Plaza, which the City of Dallas promised to open to the public at 2:30pm.

The local mainstream media outlets are also covering for the sheriff’s dept. by spinning the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The article in the Dallas Morning News further stated that the deputies shoved the crowd down the street because they “decided they’d had enough.”

Local police, however, are effectively federalized during special events, taking orders from federal agencies such as the DHS. The deputies didn’t decide anything.

In fact, when we questioned one of the deputies after the assault, he said that he was just acting on orders from above.

After the attack, an Infowars reader e-mailed a local Dallas news station to ask why there was hardly any coverage on it.

The news spokesperson completely spun the story, suggesting that the police are “allowed” to keep people out of a “restricted area” and that the protestors were “trying to get into” an event where a ticket was required.

The area was not “restricted.” It was a public street OUTSIDE of a barricaded area.

What’s more, the Dallas Police provided the public access to the area where they were attacked. At no time were any barricades breached or removed.

This is a textbook example of government officials and media outlets working hand-in-hand to distort the truth and cover up criminality.

This article was posted: Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 12:33 pm

Tags: activism, domestic news, mainstream media, police state

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Infowars

Read more about Dallas Sheriff’s Dept. Lies About Assault On Peaceful Protestors and other interesting subjects concerning Internet Spying and Secrecy at TheDailyNewsReport.com

State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

A Yemeni soldier stops a car at a checkpoint in a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A Yemeni soldier stops a car at a checkpoint in a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Map shows U.S. embassies and consulates that will remain closed through Aug. 10; 3c x 4 inches; 146 mm x 101 mm;

Buy AP Photo Reprints

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country following the threat by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the evacuation of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks” and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an “extremely high” security threat level.

“As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation,” the travel warning said. The U.S. Embassy is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat told The Associated Press that the current shutdown of embassies in the Middle East and Africa was instigated by an intercepted secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major terror attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. has pummeled terrorist leaders in Yemen with targeted drone strikes. On Tuesday, Yemeni security officials said a suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged al-Qaida members in a volatile eastern province of the country. The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said.

The Yemeni officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior al-Qaida member. It’s the fourth drone attack in the past week to hit a car believed to be carrying al-Qaida members.

The State Department on Sunday closed a total of 19 diplomatic posts until next Saturday. They include posts in Bangladesh and across North Africa and the Middle East as well as East Africa, including Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.

Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for the State Department, said in a separate statement issued early Tuesday that the department issued the order for Yemen because of concern about a “threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks against U.S. persons or facilities overseas, especially emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.”

The statement said U.S. citizens who choose to stay in Yemen despite the travel warning should limit nonessential travel within the country and make their own contingency emergency plans. “From time to time, the Embassy may temporarily close or suspend public services for security reasons,” Psaki said. “Emergency assistance to U.S. citizens during non-business hours (or when public access is restricted) is available through embassy duty personnel.”

Britain’s Foreign Office also announced that it had evacuated all staff from its embassy in Yemen due to security concerns. The office said the British embassy staff were “temporarily withdrawn to the U.K.” on Tuesday, but declined further comment. Previously, the U.K. had said the embassy would be closed until the end of the Muslim festival of Eid later this week.

AQAP, gathered in small cells scattered across Yemen’s vast under-governed regions, has proven to be a tenacious enemy.

Officials say al-Zawahri, who took over for Osama bin Laden and works from Pakistan, has reached out to the Yemeni branch, cementing their ties and further signaling the AQAP is once again looking to target U.S. and Western interests after a sustained period of more local and regional focus.

For puzzled Americans who’ve been told that al-Qaida is on the decline, the latest warnings raise questions about how successful America’s war on terror has been and whether the terror group has been able to reorganize and reconstitute itself since bin Laden’s death in May 2011.

And, although U.S. officials agreed a year ago to restart military aid to Yemen, it’s unclear how much of the new aircraft and weapons have arrived. After aid to Yemen was frozen for some time, the U.S. military is once again on the ground there training Yemeni special operations forces and has delivered more than a dozen helicopters to the Yemeni military and provided training for them, U.S. defense officials said.

But other weapons and equipment are still in the pipeline, according to a Mideast official.

The latest terror alert was triggered in part when the secret message between al-Zawahri and al-Wahishi was intercepted several weeks ago.

There long has been movement of fighters between Pakistan and Yemen, and discussions between the two groups, but the latest communication triggered worries and prompted the U.S. to take steps to boost security. The embassy closures came one day after a meeting between President Barack Obama and Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi.

AQAP has been widely considered al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliate for several years. Even though the group lost Anwar al-Awlaki — one of its key inspirational leaders — to a U.S. drone strike in 2011, al-Wahishi and the group’s master bomb maker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, remain on the loose and determined to target the U.S. and other Western interests.

The group is linked to the botched Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner bound for Detroit and explosives-laden parcels intercepted aboard cargo flights a year later — both incidents involving al-Asiri’s expertise.

In recent years, however, AQAP has been focused more on making gains at home, taking advantage of an unstable government and overstretched military that was forced to concentrate on protecting the political center in Sanaa. As a result, said a senior defense official, AQAP was able to expand its foothold in the south, capture more weapons and gain control of additional territory.

Obama and others have consistently alluded to the weakening of core al-Qaida in Pakistan — particularly since a Navy SEAL team killed bin Laden in Pakistan two years ago. Obama frequently touts bin Laden’s death in his speeches, and has declared that the terror group was “on the path to defeat.”

But while core al-Qaida may be on the ropes, officials have warned repeatedly that its offshoots in places like Yemen and Africa, as well as homegrown believers in the U.S., have grown increasingly dangerous and more difficult to track.

On Monday, officials declined to be more specific about the latest threat.

“What we know is the threat emanates from, and may be focused on, occurring in the Arabian Peninsula,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “It could potentially be beyond that, or elsewhere.”

___

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes, Kimberly Dozier, Robert Burns and Julie Pace in Washington and Ahmed Al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Politics Headlines

State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

A Yemeni soldier stops a car at a checkpoint in a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A Yemeni soldier stops a car at a checkpoint in a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Map shows U.S. embassies and consulates that will remain closed through Aug. 10; 3c x 4 inches; 146 mm x 101 mm;

Buy AP Photo Reprints

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country following the threat by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the evacuation of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks” and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an “extremely high” security threat level.

“As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation,” the travel warning said. The U.S. Embassy is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat told The Associated Press that the current shutdown of embassies in the Middle East and Africa was instigated by an intercepted secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major terror attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. has pummeled terrorist leaders in Yemen with targeted drone strikes. On Tuesday, Yemeni security officials said a suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged al-Qaida members in a volatile eastern province of the country. The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said.

The Yemeni officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior al-Qaida member. It’s the fourth drone attack in the past week to hit a car believed to be carrying al-Qaida members.

The State Department on Sunday closed a total of 19 diplomatic posts until next Saturday. They include posts in Bangladesh and across North Africa and the Middle East as well as East Africa, including Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.

Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for the State Department, said in a separate statement issued early Tuesday that the department issued the order for Yemen because of concern about a “threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks against U.S. persons or facilities overseas, especially emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.”

The statement said U.S. citizens who choose to stay in Yemen despite the travel warning should limit nonessential travel within the country and make their own contingency emergency plans. “From time to time, the Embassy may temporarily close or suspend public services for security reasons,” Psaki said. “Emergency assistance to U.S. citizens during non-business hours (or when public access is restricted) is available through embassy duty personnel.”

Britain’s Foreign Office also announced that it had evacuated all staff from its embassy in Yemen due to security concerns. The office said the British embassy staff were “temporarily withdrawn to the U.K.” on Tuesday, but declined further comment. Previously, the U.K. had said the embassy would be closed until the end of the Muslim festival of Eid later this week.

AQAP, gathered in small cells scattered across Yemen’s vast under-governed regions, has proven to be a tenacious enemy.

Officials say al-Zawahri, who took over for Osama bin Laden and works from Pakistan, has reached out to the Yemeni branch, cementing their ties and further signaling the AQAP is once again looking to target U.S. and Western interests after a sustained period of more local and regional focus.

For puzzled Americans who’ve been told that al-Qaida is on the decline, the latest warnings raise questions about how successful America’s war on terror has been and whether the terror group has been able to reorganize and reconstitute itself since bin Laden’s death in May 2011.

And, although U.S. officials agreed a year ago to restart military aid to Yemen, it’s unclear how much of the new aircraft and weapons have arrived. After aid to Yemen was frozen for some time, the U.S. military is once again on the ground there training Yemeni special operations forces and has delivered more than a dozen helicopters to the Yemeni military and provided training for them, U.S. defense officials said.

But other weapons and equipment are still in the pipeline, according to a Mideast official.

The latest terror alert was triggered in part when the secret message between al-Zawahri and al-Wahishi was intercepted several weeks ago.

There long has been movement of fighters between Pakistan and Yemen, and discussions between the two groups, but the latest communication triggered worries and prompted the U.S. to take steps to boost security. The embassy closures came one day after a meeting between President Barack Obama and Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi.

AQAP has been widely considered al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliate for several years. Even though the group lost Anwar al-Awlaki — one of its key inspirational leaders — to a U.S. drone strike in 2011, al-Wahishi and the group’s master bomb maker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, remain on the loose and determined to target the U.S. and other Western interests.

The group is linked to the botched Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner bound for Detroit and explosives-laden parcels intercepted aboard cargo flights a year later — both incidents involving al-Asiri’s expertise.

In recent years, however, AQAP has been focused more on making gains at home, taking advantage of an unstable government and overstretched military that was forced to concentrate on protecting the political center in Sanaa. As a result, said a senior defense official, AQAP was able to expand its foothold in the south, capture more weapons and gain control of additional territory.

Obama and others have consistently alluded to the weakening of core al-Qaida in Pakistan — particularly since a Navy SEAL team killed bin Laden in Pakistan two years ago. Obama frequently touts bin Laden’s death in his speeches, and has declared that the terror group was “on the path to defeat.”

But while core al-Qaida may be on the ropes, officials have warned repeatedly that its offshoots in places like Yemen and Africa, as well as homegrown believers in the U.S., have grown increasingly dangerous and more difficult to track.

On Monday, officials declined to be more specific about the latest threat.

“What we know is the threat emanates from, and may be focused on, occurring in the Arabian Peninsula,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “It could potentially be beyond that, or elsewhere.”

___

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes, Kimberly Dozier, Robert Burns and Julie Pace in Washington and Ahmed Al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

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State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country following the threat by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks” and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an “extremely high” security threat level.

“As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation,” the travel warning said.

The U.S. Embassy is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

The State Department on Sunday closed a total of 19 diplomatic posts until next Saturday. They include posts in Bangladesh and across North Africa and the Middle East as well as East Africa, including Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.

A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat told The Associated Press that the shutdown of embassies was instigated by an intercepted secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major terror attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

AQAP has been widely considered al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliate for several years.

Even though the group lost Anwar al-Awlaki — one of its key inspirational leaders — to a U.S. drone strike in 2011, al-Wahishi and the group’s master bomb maker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, remain on the loose and determined to target the U.S. and other Western interests.

The group is linked to the botched Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner bound for Detroit and explosives-laden parcels intercepted aboard cargo flights a year later — both incidents involving al-Asiri’s expertise.

“Terrorist organizations, including AQAP, continue to be active throughout Yemen,” the travel warning said. “The U.S. government remains highly concerned about possible attacks on U.S. citizens (whether visiting or residing in Yemen), and U.S. facilities, businesses and perceived U.S. and Western interests.”

On Tuesday, Yemeni security officials said a suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged al-Qaida members in a volatile eastern province of the country. The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior al-Qaida member.

___

Associated Press writer Ahmed Al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

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Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country following the threat by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks” and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an “extremely high” security threat level.

“As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation,” the travel warning said.

The U.S. Embassy is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

The State Department on Sunday closed a total of 19 diplomatic posts until next Saturday. They include posts in Bangladesh and across North Africa and the Middle East as well as East Africa, including Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.

A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat told The Associated Press that the shutdown of embassies was instigated by an intercepted secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major terror attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

AQAP has been widely considered al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliate for several years.

Even though the group lost Anwar al-Awlaki — one of its key inspirational leaders — to a U.S. drone strike in 2011, al-Wahishi and the group’s master bomb maker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, remain on the loose and determined to target the U.S. and other Western interests.

The group is linked to the botched Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner bound for Detroit and explosives-laden parcels intercepted aboard cargo flights a year later — both incidents involving al-Asiri’s expertise.

“Terrorist organizations, including AQAP, continue to be active throughout Yemen,” the travel warning said. “The U.S. government remains highly concerned about possible attacks on U.S. citizens (whether visiting or residing in Yemen), and U.S. facilities, businesses and perceived U.S. and Western interests.”

On Tuesday, Yemeni security officials said a suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged al-Qaida members in a volatile eastern province of the country. The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior al-Qaida member.

___

Associated Press writer Ahmed Al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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State Dept. urges US citizens to leave Yemen

State Dept. orders evacuation of embassy in Yemen

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Tuesday ordered the U.S. Embassy in Yemen evacuated as a result of the threat by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks” and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an “extremely high” security threat level.

“U.S. citizens currently in Yemen should depart. As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation,” the travel warning said.

The U.S. Embassy is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat told The Associated Press that the current shutdown of embassies in the Middle East and Africa was instigated by an intercepted secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major terror attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

AQAP has been widely considered al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliate for several years.

Even though the group lost Anwar al-Awlaki — one of its key inspirational leaders — to a U.S. drone strike in 2011, al-Wahishi and the group’s master bomb maker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, remain on the loose and determined to target the U.S. and other Western interests.

The group is linked to the botched Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner bound for Detroit and explosives-laden parcels intercepted aboard cargo flights a year later — both incidents involving al-Asiri’s expertise.

“Terrorist organizations, including AQAP, continue to be active throughout Yemen,” the travel warning said. “The U.S. government remains highly concerned about possible attacks on U.S. citizens (whether visiting or residing in Yemen), and U.S. facilities, businesses and perceived U.S. and Western interests.”

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Top Headlines

State Dept. orders evacuation of embassy in Yemen

State Dept: Posts in 19 countries to remain closed

A Yemeni soldier inspects a car at a checkpoint on a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A Yemeni soldier inspects a car at a checkpoint on a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Map shows U.S. embassies and consulates that will close; 3c x 3 inches; 146 mm x 76 mm;

A Yemeni soldier inspects a car at a checkpoint on a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

A ,man walks past the U.S Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. The threat of a terrorist attack led to the weekend closure of 21 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Muslim world and a global travel warning to Americans, the first such alert since an announcement before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 strikes. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A Yemeni soldier stops a car at a checkpoint in a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a “significant threat” of an al-Qaida attack. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid online “chatter” about terror threats, U.S. diplomatic posts in 19 cities in the Muslim world will be closed at least through the end of this week, the State Department said.

Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the decision to keep the embassies and consulates shuttered is a sign of an “abundance of caution” and is “not an indication of a new threat.”

She said the continued closures are “merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees, including local employees, and visitors to our facilities.”

Diplomatic facilities will remain closed in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, among other countries, through Saturday, Aug. 10. The State Department announcement Sunday added closures of four African sites, in Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius.

The U.S. has also decided to reopen some posts on Monday, including those in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Baghdad.

The Obama administration announced Friday that the posts would be closed over the weekend and the State Department announced a global travel alert, warning that al-Qaida or its allies might target either U.S. government or private American interests.

The intercepted intelligence foreshadowing an attack on U.S. or Western interests is evidence of one of the gravest threats to the United States since 9/11, according to several lawmakers who made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows.

“This is the most serious threat that I’ve seen in the last several years,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia told NBC’s “Meet the Press Sunday. “Chatter means conversation among terrorists about the planning that’s going on — very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11.”

Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it was that chatter that prompted the Obama administration to order the Sunday closure of 22 embassies and consulates and issue the travel warning.

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC’s “This Week” that the threat intercepted from “high-level people in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula” was about a “major attack.”

Yemen is home to al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliate, blamed for several notable terrorist plots on the United States. They include the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit and the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.

Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who leads the House Homeland Security subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence, told ABC the threat “was specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also that certain dates were given.”

The Obama administration’s decision to close the embassies and the lawmakers’ general discussion about the threats and the related intelligence discoveries come at a sensitive time as the government tries to defend recently disclosed surveillance programs that have stirred deep privacy concerns and raised the potential of the first serious retrenchment in terrorism-fighting efforts since Sept. 11.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has scoffed at the assertion by the head of the National Security Agency that government methods used to collect telephone and email data have helped foil 54 terror plots.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a House Intelligence Committee member, said while he takes the threat seriously he hasn’t seen any evidence linking the latest warnings to that agency’s collection of “vast amounts of domestic data.”

Other lawmakers defended the administration’s response and promoted the work of the NSA in unearthing the intelligence that led to the security warnings.

King, a frequent critic of President Barack Obama, said: “Whether or not there was any controversy over the NSA at all, all these actions would have been taken.”

On Friday, the White House announced the weekend closures and the State Department announced a global travel alert.

The warning urged American travelers to take extra precautions overseas, citing potential dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists.

It noted that previous terrorist attacks have centered on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats. It suggested travelers sign up for State Department alerts and register with U.S. consulates in the countries they visit. The alert expires Aug. 31.

The intelligence intercepts also prompted Britain, Germany and France to close their embassies in Yemen on Sunday and Monday. British authorities said some embassy staff in Yemen had been withdrawn “due to security concerns.”

Interpol, the French-based international policy agency, has also issued a global security alert in connection with suspected al-Qaida involvement in several recent prison escapes including those in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

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Associated Press writer Michele Salcedo contributed to this report.

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State Dept: Posts in 19 countries to remain closed