As Congress continues to debate whether to grant the President authority to strike Syria, the State Department is sending personnel home:
The Obama administration is evacuating some of its Middle Eastern embassies amid threats of retaliation for a U.S. strike on Syria.
The State Department has ordered a drawdown of non-emergency personnel in Beirut, Lebanon, because of concerns of an attack by Syria ally Hezbollah.
The department has also approved the drawdown of non-emergency personnel and family members who wish to leave Adana, Turkey, which is located five miles from the U.S. Air Force base at Incirlik.
“Given the current tensions the region, as well as potential threats to U.S. Government facilities and personnel, we are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution to protect our employees and their families, and local employees and visitors to our facilities,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
“We will continue to assess the situation and to adjust our security posture accordingly.”
This is a prudent move, obviously, especially since it comes on top of the news today that the U.S. had reportedly intercepted communications from Iran authorizing militants to attack the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad if the U.S. strikes Syria.
