I find the various points of view, based on diverse experiences, both amazing and enlightening. Because I am one of the Stan and Tom club, when I originally heard that the embassy was closing temporarily for force protection concerns, I didn't think twice about it. As someone else has already mentioned, we do it all the time, usually for valid reasons. Point to Stan -- sometimes it just becomes the default dedcision because nobody wants to be the one who allowed innocents to be killed.

As temporary measures, we sometimes reduce daily manning, limit or close some operations (e.g. consular, etc.), or lock the doors for a coupla days.

That our adversaries might pounce upon this process as a victory is unfortunate, but understandable. When our own armchair rear echelon weanies choose to make it into a political issue -- that really concerns me.