Shut down of US embassies is a consequence of poor security
With hundreds of Al-Qaeda militants now out and about after a recent set of jailbreaks, including the one last week in D I Khan, Pakistan, the United States is fearing more attacks on its establishments. The state of the Middle East along with the war in Syria and the toppling of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt has created ample ammunition for Islamist militants across the globe, and specifically Pakistan, to target the US for its alleged involvement in the conflicts. With reports already emerging that a number of militants from Pakistan had already been dispatched to fight in Syria and the sectarian nature of those who orchestrated the D I Khan jailbreak, the US has perceived it a cause for concern. The result has been the decision to temporarily close all its embassies in the Islamic world.
A high-level meeting was held at the White House on Saturday to discuss new terror concerns. This was after Interpol issued a global security alert after hundreds of militants were set free in jailbreaks linked to the Al-Qaeda terror network, and as suicide bombers killed nine near the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. This was also a result of instruction from the US President Barack Obama to take all appropriate steps to protect the American people in light of a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula. The instructions to shut around 22 US embassies were issued last week and Germany, Britain and France are set to follow suit and close their missions for at least two days while Canada has shut their mission in Dhaka.
The Interpol alert pointed to suspected Al-Qaeda involvement in recent jailbreaks across nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistan which freed “hundreds of terrorists and other criminals” in the past month alone. With the week marking the 15th anniversary of the US embassy bombings in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, in which more than 200 people died, the thought is that Al-Qaeda might want to mark the occasion. The US has suggested that the threat is at broader “Western interests” and not just US interests. The concerns have been raised as a recording from Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, alleged to be hiding in Pakistan or Afghanistan, was posted on militant Islamist forums in which he accused the United States of “plotting” with Egypt’s military, secularists and Christians to overthrow Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. The unfortunate part is that Pakistan continues to be singled out, despite a decade of fighting Islamist militants. The fact that Osama bin Laden was found by the US in a raid still does not stand well and suspicions remain that other foreign terrorists are still in Pakistan. The defence first policy is the key reason why attacks such as the D I Khan jailbreak have occurred. There is a need for the Pakistani government to revisit the matter and adopt a more aggressive posture before it suffers more on the international front.
