Posted on 05/22/2003 10:57:07 AM PDT by knighthawk
THE United States closed its embassy in the Norwegian capital today in response to purported threats from the al-Qaeda terror network, as Norway reviewed the risk to the country.
The Arab television station Al-Jazeera aired an audio tape yesterday purportedly by Ayman al-Zawahri, the top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, urging attacks on the United States, Britain, Australia and, surprisingly, Norway.
NATO-member Norway, a Scandinavian country of 4.5 million, is noted for its global peacemaking efforts and is the home of the Nobel Peace Prize. It did not participate in the US-led war in Iraq.
The US Embassy said it had noted the threat and would be closed to the public "for security reasons" for a day, spokeswoman Kathy Perez said.
No other details were available, but the nearly 8000 Americans living in Norway were urged to "monitor events closely" and take their own security precautions.
US Embassies in neighbouring Denmark, Sweden and Finland were open.
Norway's Foreign Ministry already warned its embassies in the Middle East about the threat and ordered information passed on to Norwegian companies in the region.
Norway is the world's third largest oil exporter, and apart from the vast oil fields off its coast, some Norwegian oil companies have interests in the Middle East and other predominantly Islamic countries.
State-owned Statoil ASA is active in Iran, Nigeria and Singapore, while Norsk Hydro ASA has offices in Iran. Paint manufacturer Jotun operates plants in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt.
Justice Minister Odd Einar Doerum said the national police intelligence service and other agencies were reviewing the threat risk.
"Norwegian authorities are doing a running evaluation of the situation in close cooperation with friendly countries," he said. "We will come back with information should additional steps be necessary."
Norwegians were puzzled by the threat, partly because the nation did not join the war in Iraq. Norwegian forces did participate in the operation to oust al-Qaeda and the Taliban from Afghanistan.
Some have suggested that the threat was really intended for neighbouring Denmark, which was part of the US-led coalition in Iraq.
Danish police today said they had increased security measures in the country of 5.3 million.
Norway has a high profile as a peacemaker, and Oslo, site of key Israel-Palestinian negotiations, also symbolised the Mideast peace process that some want to stop.
Norway secretly brokered a 1993 accord and has been involved in trying to find a lasting peace there.
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
Norway openly supported the US and Britain in Iraq.
Hmmmmm... I've always viewed these nations, along with Norway and Iceland as being friendly,
but I can't really see where an embassy would be very busy in any of them.
How about we try to save a little money and have just one embassy shared between the five of 'em?
We do however have a mega embassy in Fiji that covers Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Samoa, Niue, Nauru, and one in Maritius that covers the Seychelles and the Maldives and a few other scattered areas.
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