The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee calls it the “most serious threat I’ve seen in a number of years.”

Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia is describing “the chatter” detected by U.S. intelligence agencies that led the Obama administration to order the weekend closure of 21 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Muslim world, and issue a global travel warning to Americans.

Chambliss tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “there’s an awful lot of chatter out there” and he says it’s “very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11.”

He says it’s critical that “we do the right kind of planning.”

(AP)