The world seems to be turning into a dangerous place. Americans have always been at risk in many parts of the globe, particularly the Middle East, and things are now getting bad enough (possibly due to a vacuum in leadership in the United States?) that the government is warning Americans who are contemplating overseas travel. On Friday, the United States State Department issued a worldwide caution alert for Americans traveling abroad, noting the possibility of terrorist attacks and violence in general.
Americans traveling abroad are being urged to exercise caution worldwide, the State Department said Friday.
The agency issued a security alert because of the "potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests."
"The Department of State is aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events and advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution," the alert states.
Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich posted the warning on X:
Americans are warned to avoid nations with ongoing conflicts - Russia, Ukraine, and Syria - as well as nations that are known sponsors of terror, like Iran, Somalia, and Sudan.
In my previous career, I had occasion to travel a lot, including to some unpleasant places like South Africa - although that wasn't as unpleasant as some other places I had visited while wearing Uncle Sam's colors. I've spent a fair amount of time in Japan, as I've noted here, and that's probably still a pretty safe place for Americans; my experience as a gaijin in the Land of the Rising Sun has been pretty positive.
But Japan, these days, seems to be an outlier. It seems to be belaboring the obvious for the State Department to point out that travel to places like Syria or Iran is ill-advised, especially with much of the Middle East on the brink of exploding.
The State Department's issuance of such a warning isn't unusual:
The State Department often issues alerts and travel advisories for Americans overseas. The travel advisories range from "exercise normal precaution" to "Do Not Travel," which is reserved for parts of the world where there is ongoing conflict, ethnic or religious discrimination or where U.S. citizens are generally not welcome. Other reasons for alerts include crime rates, health concerns and piracy in some parts of the world.
Friday's warning may be a tad more dire than just a warning about crime rates or religious discrimination, given the events of Oct. 7th in Israel.