Winds of War blowing, they’re shredding the documents in Lebanon

US embassy in Lebanon destroys documents amid protests
17 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Diplomats at the US Embassy in Beirut have started to destroy classified material as a security precaution amid anti-American protests in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa.

A State Department status report obtained Monday by The Associated Press said the Beirut embassy had “reviewed its emergency procedures and is beginning to destroy classified holdings.”

It also said that local Lebanese employees were sent home early due to protests organized by Hezbollah over the anti-Islam film produced by in the United States.

Earlier Monday, the State Department renewed its warning to US citizens to “avoid all travel to Lebanon because of current safety and security concerns.”

It said US citizens “living and working in Lebanon should understand that they accept risks in remaining and should carefully consider those risks.”

The new alert, which superseded a May 8 warning, said the potential for a “spontaneous upsurge in violence remains” in Lebanon and that Lebanese authorities are not able to guarantee protection if violence erupts quickly.

The warning also noted that the Fulbright and the English Language Fellow programs that gave grants to American scholars to live and work in Lebanon during the academic year have been suspended “because of the deteriorating security situation and the increased possibility of attacks against US citizens in Lebanon.” …more