LONDON The US terror warning regarding a possible Al Qaeda plot against Europe target is still on. So says Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s Counter- Terrorism Coordinator in London today.

His exact words were, “We don’t view the conditions as warranting us rescinding the alert…the situation is the same.”

France and other countries are not downgrading their own warnings either.

The State Department comment no doubt in part aimed at deflecting on-going grousing from intelligence officials here. The Guardian newspaper last week quoted unnamed figures branding the alert as “nonsensical” and “exaggerated.”

Benjamin has, in fact, been quoted as saying the alert is set to remain in place for at least 90 days at which time a decision will be made about renewing it or not. So far it’s been out for less than two weeks.

He also stressed today the alert was not a limit on US travel to Europe, just a call for caution. He noted there are top-ranking Americans travelling around the continent this week including Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Defense Gates.

There are reports that those planning attacks in Germany and the UK have been killed in drone missile strikes in recent weeks in the Al Qaeda-rich Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.

But there is also new information coming from the German national terror suspect being interrogated by the US at Bagram airbase that terror cells which might have been planning the Europe attacks are already active including in France and Italy.

One good reason, perhaps, that terror alert won’t be lifted anytime soon.