US embassy closures used to bolster case for NSA surveillance programs
Congress told that NSA monitoring led to interception of al-Qaida threats but privacy campaigners fear ulterior political motives. ● US embassies in the Middle East are to remain closed for the rest of the week as supporters of the National Security Agency's sweeping surveillance powers used the unspecified terror alert to bolster the case against reining in the controversial measures. ● The closures follow the alleged interception of al-Qaida communications in Yemen, which intelligence committee members in Congress have been told were collected overseas using powers granted to the NSA under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – not the bulk surveillance programs disclosed by the Guardian and the Washington Post thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden. ● A privacy group questioned the publicity given to the latest alert after the State Department announced on Sunday evening that the number of embassies and consulates closed "out of an abundance of caution" would be increased, with some remaining shut for up to a week. [They] criticised the widespread linking of the latest terror alerts with the debate over the domestic powers of the NSA. Amie Stepanovich, a lawyer with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said: "The NSA's choice to publish these threats at this time perpetuates a culture of fear and unquestioning deference to surveillance in the United States."