“Citing security concerns, the United States Embassy in Rome sent most of its employees home for the day yesterday [January 5, 2001]. ‘We had credible information and we decided as a precaution to close down the embassy,’ a spokesman for the embassy said. …Officials said the threat came from people associated with Osama bin Laden’s organization, Al Qaeda.”
– James Risen, “U.S. Embassy In Rome Sends Staff Home After Threat,” The New York Times, Jan. 6, 2001