Terrorist threat followed 'pre-9/11 levels' of 'chatter', say NSA defenders
The closure of 22 US embassies over an alleged security threat was seized on by defenders of the National Security Agency on Sunday, amid claims that its controversial surveillance programme alerted authorities to "pre-9/11" levels of terrorist chatter.
A meeting of President Barack Obama's top security officials on Saturday concluded that intelligence apparently gathered from overseas communications intercepts showed a serious but unspecified threat against Western and US interests. The administration moved to shut the embassies across North Africa and the Middle East as a precaution.
Intelligence committee members in Washington who had been briefed on the alert said it was the most serious they had seen for years and repeatedly cited the threat during Sunday's political talk shows as a reason to resist growing calls in Congress for reform of the NSA's sweeping powers.
I must confess that the first time I saw the headline on this I was struck by it arising in conjunction with all of the questions and criticisms that have recently arisen about the data collection programs of the NSA. Apparently I am not alone.
A number of Congressional leaders concerned by the NSA's powers, particularly regarding domestic surveillance, urged caution over linking the latest terrorism alert.
Adam Schiff, a Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said: "This is not the usual kind of chatter … it had to be corroborated or come from very reliable sources to take this kind of action.
"You have to be very careful how much you represent that any particular programme has contributed to our security. There is no indication that the metadata programme [related to domestic surveillance] contributed to information about this particular plot."
The problem with the classified threats and the claims of undisclosed plots that have been foiled is that it is impossible to evaluate them. It is notable that the most vocal defenders of the current threat claims are Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Lindsey Graham. I suppose that we should be inspired by the bipartisan nature of it all.