Peter Van Buren, Reuters: Who gets out when a U.S. embassy closes, and who gets left behind?

The American Embassy in Yemen closed its doors and evacuated its American staff on Tuesday. U.S officials say security concerns brought on by the advancing Houthi rebel group caused the closure. The Houthis say the evacuation was unnecessary, a political act seeking to undermine their legitimacy, and grabbed embassy vehicles on Wednesday. Closing an embassy can often be as much about strategic political aims, as it is about security concerns, but how hard is it to execute?

WNU Editor: It is always a worrisome development when a country closes an embassy .... it means that the situation has become dangerous. And yes .... Russia has (more or less) the same procedures and guidelines.