Hey, remember when President Barack Obama said this?
Yay!
So, how’s that whole “path to defeat” thing going? State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki tells us, in something she likes to call: “Statement on Update of Embassy and Consulate Closure.”
Given that a number of our embassies and consulates were going to be closed in accordance with local custom and practice for the bulk of the week for the Eid celebration at the end of Ramadan, and out of an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to extend the closure of several embassies and consulates including a small number of additional posts.
This is not an indication of a new threat stream, 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.
Posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antananarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali, and Port Louis are instructed to close for normal operations Monday, August 5 through Saturday, August 10.
See, we’re lulling them into a false sense of security. It has nothing to do with “a new threat stream.”
As Jeff Poor reports, that silly goose Bill Kristol thinks this is a bad thing:
“Four years ago President Obama gave a much heralded speech as outreach to the Muslim world,” Kristol said. “And now, four years later we are closing embassies throughout the Muslim world. A year ago, the president said al-Qaida is on the run. And now we seem to be on the run.”
“I’m not criticizing the decision to close the embassies. That’s probably the right thing to do for the sake of trying to save American lives and others, but it’s a terrible thing,” he added. “That you know, just a year ago boasting al-Qaida is on the run and Osama bin Laden is dead.”
Kristol made his remarks on Sunday’s “Fox News Sunday” during its panel segment. He also warned closing the embassies affected tourism and further indicated the severity of situation.
Um, yeah, Bill. Bin Laden is dead. They made a whole big movie about it and everything. President Barack Obama has ended terrorism. Just ask him!
When that dolt George Bush stepped in front of that “Mission Accomplished” banner, it proved he was a liar and an incompetent and the worst president ever. Whereas declaring that al-Qaida is on the path to defeat, and then closing a bunch of embassies… well, that’s just a “commitment to exercise caution.” That’s completely different, teabagger.
Let’s hear it for the end of al-Qaida! Eventually. Probably. Maybe.