TERROR THREAT Forces Closure of EMBASSIES around the World. HIDDEN AGENDA? Possible FALSE FLAG?
The terror threat prompting the U.S. government to close nearly two dozen embassies and consulates Sunday is the most specific, credible threat information in years, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports.
Intelligence officers have reporting from a reliable source that a major plot is under way and that the team to carry it out has been selected and is in place, Miller reports.
The threat information has been described as the most specific and credible since the foiled plot to blow up British planes en route to the United States in 2006, Miller reports. The specificity ends there.
What authorities don't have is the date, the timing or the target of the attack, which is why they have taken such an approach to warning potential targets, Miller reports.
The threat has prompted the U.S. to issue a global travel alert to all Americans for the first time since the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
White House officials said President Obama was briefed Saturday morning on the potential terrorist threat before departing for Camp David, CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues reports.
What prompted the latest terror threat
News correspondent calls worldwide terror alert a "terrible reminder for Americans that we are still major targets"
The State Department has issued a worldwide alert warning Americans overseas that a terrorist "plot is underway."
The U.S. government plans to shut down more than 20 embassies and consulates, the most to be closed since 9/11.
BBC News reports, "The U.S. intercepted al-Qaeda messages" and has "issued a separate global security alert, citing jail breaks linked to al-Qaeda in nine countries."
Martha Raddatz, an ABC News Chief Global Affairs correspondent, calls the alert a "terrible reminder for Americans that we are still major targets."
Correspondents pointed out that the terror alert is "unusually broad and covers travel for Americans across the globe."
Americans have been warned to be cautious when visiting tourist sites and while using public transportation.
In a statement issued by the State Department officials warned, "Terrorists may use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests."
The warning is set to remain in effect until the end of August.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told ABC News, "It is an al-Qaeda affiliated threat. It is of the al-Qaeda branch."
Gen. Dempsey says the specific target is unknown, however the "intent is clear to attack Western, not just U.S. interests."
ABC News says the threat is believed to be coming from Yemen and told correspondents it's the same region where "Anwar Al-Awlaki, a radical American cleric, directed terrorists attacks."
This is the same Anwar al-Awlaki that dined at the Pentagon a few months after the 9/11 attack and was later killed by a drone strike in 2011.
In 2012, Infowars reported, "American-born cleric Awlaki's role as a key figure in almost every recent terror plot targeting the United States and Canada, coupled with his visit to the Pentagon, only confirms our long stated position that Awlaki is a chief terrorist patsy-handler for the CIA -- he is the federal government's premier false flag agent," Paul Joseph Watson wrote.
Officials believe the latest plot could involve multiple targets both in and outside of Yemen.
CBS News reports, "Britain will close its embassy in Yemen and has urged all its citizens to leave the country."
ABC News Chief Global Affairs correspondent warns Americans to avoid local events like "demonstrations," and also encourages travelers to enroll in the "Smart Travel Enrollment Program (STEP)."
According to the government's website, STEP is a "free service provided by the U.S. Government to U.S. citizens who are traveling to, or living in, a foreign country."
STEP also allows Americans residing abroad to get routine information from the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
The program's app sends you emails and texts about possible new security advisories.
They are committed global jihadis."
