# Embassy Closings **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 4, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354 "2013-08-04T21:33:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/21 "2013-08-05T00:24:29Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > No, none at all. Puts more heat on Obama, matter of fact. Matter of fact? Really? There is a way to factually prove that Obama will “suffer” more because of embassy closings than NSA spying on Americans and not just because you say so? I’m all eyeballs waiting for your next post … ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/22 "2013-08-05T00:25:44Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > …US Embassies are fortresses… Since when? ---
**Author:** ![Psychopants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Psychopants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psychopants)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/23 "2013-08-05T00:35:25Z")
Seriously? Who here has an actual clue? Shutting down the embassies, even for just one day, has to mean that there is a significant and credible threat. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/24 "2013-08-05T00:45:47Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I say beef up security where possible, have air support on standby where possible… Let’s just explore this thought for a moment. How many embassies do you think have their own airfield? Why do you suggest air support is a good idea? If a crowd gathers at an embassy, would you give the order to drop 500 pound bombs on them? What use are F-16s after a truck bomb goes off? Do you think countries from Pakistan to Qatar to Turkey are just going to be cool with combat-armed American aircraft flying CAPs above their sovereign capital? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/25 "2013-08-05T00:45:51Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Story says one day. [Most of the embassies will stay closed through Saturday the 10th. Some other countries are also closing their embassies in Yemen.](http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/04/19864025-significant-al-qaeda-threat-remains-unclear-as-embassy-closures-extended?lite) ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/26 "2013-08-05T00:58:01Z")
How do you prove a negative? If embassies are closed and nothing happens, the President gets to say “See, look… that NSA surveillance sure is handy, isn’t it!” And the administration can say there is a continued need for secrecy so that future plots can be disrupted. I’m no conspiracy theorist but I would assume the NSA and White House are looking at this as the best thing that could have happened to the security apparatus in a long time. I also like how the ass-covering has begun already. Extra security, including US Marines are on standby. The embassies are closed, so no Benghazi round two. The President is being briefed on minute-to-minute developments and all the heads of the alphabet soup agencies are having high-level meetings. Now we just need a strong denunciation of terroristy terrorist terrorizers who hate our freedoms. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/27 "2013-08-05T01:16:27Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > How do you prove a negative? That cuts both ways. If there’s no attack, they can’t prove they prevented it and they can’t prove there was a real risk either. People will probably assume whichever version fits their preconceived notions. Meanwhile if they don’t do anything and there’s an attack, they get blamed for not anticipating and preventing it, and if they keep the whole thing quiet, people assume the whole terrorism thing is a non-issue. > [@](#): > > I’m no conspiracy theorist but I would assume the NSA and White House are looking at this as the best thing that could have happened to the security apparatus in a long time. I hope they’re looking at it as a time when they really need to be on the ball because mistakes could get people killed, not evaluating potential political gains. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/28 "2013-08-05T01:18:29Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I also like how the ass-covering has begun already. The ass-covering is already there in the language: no specific target, no specific group and only a chatter (increased volume of messages among suspects). The language used provides plausibility and deniability. That’s like closing banks for fear of robbery because of known or unknown criminals chatter how best way to get to money is by robbing a place with most money. Well, makes no sense for banks but makes a lot of “sense” in Government. It’s a theatre. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/29 "2013-08-05T01:25:19Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > The ass-covering is already there in the language: no specific target, no specific group and only a chatter (increased volume of messages among suspects). Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are not specific groups? ---
**Author:** ![Psychopants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Psychopants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psychopants)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/30 "2013-08-05T01:25:44Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > How do you prove a negative? If embassies are closed and nothing happens, the President gets to say “See, look… that NSA surveillance sure is handy, isn’t it!” And the administration can say there is a continued need for secrecy so that future plots can be disrupted. I’m no conspiracy theorist but I would assume the NSA and White House are looking at this as the best thing that could have happened to the security apparatus in a long time. > > I also like how the ass-covering has begun already. Extra security, including US Marines are on standby. The embassies are closed, so no Benghazi round two. The President is being briefed on minute-to-minute developments and all the heads of the alphabet soup agencies are having high-level meetings. Now we just need a strong denunciation of terroristy terrorist terrorizers who hate our freedoms. Sweet. So the only way to prove that you are completely off base is an epic tragedy. Go back and watch some more faux. Or listen to rush. You, sir, have zero credibility. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/31 "2013-08-05T01:28:16Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > The ass-covering is already there in the language: no specific target, no specific group and only a chatter (increased volume of messages among suspects). The language used provides plausibility and deniability. You never get details about security operations- it compromises security. That’s actual and factual. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/32 "2013-08-05T01:32:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are not specific groups? IRA is a specific group. Hamas is too. Al Qaeda is not. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/33 "2013-08-05T01:33:54Z")
> [@Psychopants](#): > > You, sir, have zero credibility. Stick to arguing the issues and don’t make this personal, please. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/34 "2013-08-05T01:34:33Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > IRA is a specific group. Hamas is too. Al Qaeda is not. I have no idea how you’re making that distinction, but it’s just as well - Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is pretty specific. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/35 "2013-08-05T01:34:34Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > You never get details about security operations- it compromises security. That’s actual and factual. Nobody has details - not just me. Thats because there are no details. It’s bulletproof. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/36 "2013-08-05T01:35:24Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Closing the embassies sends the wrong message. It empowers terrorists by showing them that we can be intimidated, and they have the power to make the most powerful nation on Earth hide under the bed whenever the scarey man says “booga-booga”. > > What’s next? Are we going to cancel the Super Bowl because some asshat makes a threat? Because if terrorists see that they can disrupt the way we do business without actually having to do anything, they’ll be issuing threats all the damn time. Point of order here, but you seem to have conflated the different meanings of ‘threat’. No enemy “issued a threat”. Our intel forces detected (as we’re told) that al-Qaeda was about to strike without warning. The former is a terroristic threat, the latter is a security threat. Now, granted, feint operations are as old as the history of war, and this very could be one. But even a feint would be very different from someone saying “booga-booga, close your embassies before I come bomb them.” But then, you already knew this. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/37 "2013-08-05T01:38:08Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I say beef up security where possible, have air support on standby where possible, pass out extra ammo and tell the boys to lock and load, but otherwise run up the flag high and proud, and get on with business as usual. If Obama had done that you’d be screaming about **that.** ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/38 "2013-08-05T01:39:32Z")
The only embassy I’ve ever visited was the U.S. embassy in the Bahamas (vacation!) And, yeah, it was a (minor) fortress. Marine guards, security barriers, heavy doors, lockdown zones, etc. Comparable to a big city police station. And that’s a friendly country with a fairly low need for security. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/39 "2013-08-05T01:39:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I have no idea how you’re making that distinction, but it’s just as well - Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is pretty specific. I don’t mean to challenge your analytical skills but even on the surface - things that are discernible or deduced from news - there are huge comparative differences. One of the most significant mentioned in numerous set of articles - which I hope I don’t have to cite - saying that AQ is an umbrella term used to refer to anyone who has ever planned action against US interests, especially since 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354/40 "2013-08-05T02:01:24Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > One of the most significant mentioned in numerous set of articles - which I hope I don’t have to cite - saying that AQ is an umbrella term used to refer to anyone who has ever planned action against US interests, especially since 9/11. You absolutely need to cite that because it looks an awful lot like bullshit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-closings/665354.md?page=3)