The United States has begun withdrawing
non-essential government personnel from the Middle East.
Officials said the action is intended to avoid Arab or Islamic reprisals on
U.S. personnel over the next few months as tension builds in the Persian Gulf and
Middle East region.
The officials said U.S. intelligence agencies have warned that Al
Qaida and Iraq could intensify attacks on U.S. nationals to foil any
Washington-led war against Baghdad.
So far, officials said, the State Department is quietly pulling out
non-essential embassy staffers and families in such countries as Egypt,
Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. They said similar
measures will be taken in the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
"We have been seen a series of attacks over Ramadan that indicate that
the intelligence warnings of increased threat to Americans in the region are
accurate," an official said. "The biggest threat is that of kidnapping of
Americans, particularly diplomats."
On Sunday, the U.S. Peace Corps, an independent U.S. federal agency that
has been operating in the kingdom since 1997, withdrew its 60 volunteers
from Jordan as fresh fighting erupted in the southern city of Ma'an. At
least one person was killed in the shootout between Jordanian security
forces and insurgents.
On Friday, the State Department announced that it has offered embassy
dependents and non-essential staff free flights to leave Jordan. The
department said Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. ambassador Edward
Gnehm have informed Jordan's King Abdullah of the decision.
"The Department of State has approved an authorized departure of family
members and non-emergency personnel from the American embassy in Amman,"
State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said. "This is an option
that will allow some embassy employees or dependents to depart voluntarily."
On Oct. 28, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development in
Jordan, Laurence Foley, was shot to death outside his home in Amman. Nobody
has been charged with the killing.
