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. Overseas Travel: How Safe Is It?
For those used to traveling abroad, you're probably already familiar with the U.S. State Department's system of travel advisories. Thus, as you might expect, ever since the attacks of September 11th, the State Department has had a world-wide advisory out for Americans traveling overseas. But for those of you who may not already be familiar with the system, a little background is probably in order. The travel advisory system is organized under the auspices of The Bureau of Consular Affairs. Here, the State Department provides a variety of information, including Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets, a List of Current Warnings and Announcements, Travel Publications, Information on Preparing for a Crisis Abroad, and Help for Americans Abroad, including Lists of Doctors and Hospitals Abroad, Judicial Assistance, Lists of Lawyers Abroad, and Tips for American Students Abroad. The most recent world-wide advisory as of this writing was posted October 23rd. And it sounds a dire note, as can be seen in the following excerpts:
There's no question that, among the many things that changed on September 11th, the prospect of flying and of traveling abroad were high on the list of new concerns. And the mixed messages coming out of Washington and elsewhere -- that we should 'get back to normal' while at the same time we are being warned periodically about the strong possibility of immanent attacks -- makes for some confusion at the least. But how dangerous is travel abroad these days? Some common sense will tell you that it depends on where you're going. Among the current specific bulletins providing varying degrees of warning, State has focused, of course, on Afghanistan. But it has also issued specific bulletins about states in the Middle East -- including Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and Yemen. In addition, State has also focused on a variety of South and Central Asian states, including the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. And with significant Islamic populations, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sudan also make the list. But, at least according to the State Department, the threat doesn't end there. For example, Italy was also a focus of concern. In a release dated October 2nd, State warned that " U.S. citizens and interests abroad continue to be at increased risk of terrorist actions from extremist groups. The Department has received information that 'symbols of American capitalism' in Italy may be targeted for attack in the next month." That month has expired, apparently without incident, but State continues the posting. Of course, not everyone shares State's sense of urgency and concern. For an alternative view, you may want to take a look at State Senator Gerry Gossens' assessment, elsewhere in this issue. A retired CIA Intelligence Officer who served as Chief of Station in the Middle East, Senator Gossens recently returned from a trip to Ivory Coast, where his daughter is serving in the Peace Corps, and Tunisia, where he once served while with The Agency. After his experiences there, he believes that the State Department's world-wide warning is "outrageous." "You can talk about it endlessly," he said. "But ... it bothers me that so many people who haven't otherwise had the experience are deterred from traveling abroad. I keep telling people, you're never going to be safer on an airplane than right now. There's more apparent security around. There's more deterrence. The planes are half-empty. The airports are half-empty. The planes are arriving on time, or early. ... It's a wonderful time to go." Whether you agree with the State Department's assessment or Senator Gossens', one thing is for certain: With the dramatic drop-off in air travel since the attacks, fares are substantially lower. Whether or not to take advantage of them, on the other hand, seems to be a matter of differing opinions. .. ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for our Travel Here & There feature, or if you simply would like to suggest something you think we ought to cover, e-mail us at ... autotravel@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* *******
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