Global Travel Advisory for Americans Applies at Home Too

WASHINGTON —  A worldwide travel advisory issued in response to expected “tension” after the U.S. missile strike on Baghdad applies even to American travelers inside the United States, the State Department said Tuesday.

“I think every American who’s watched the news of the last couple of days understands that . . . there’s a very real threat posed by terrorist activities around the world, and we certainly . . . know that sometimes that danger crosses waters and comes here, home to the United States,” department spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters.

The State Department issued a worldwide advisory to U.S. citizens Saturday, within hours of an American missile attack on Iraq’s intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.

That advisory, unlike more typical department directives that apply only to certain countries, urged caution by all U.S. travelers all over the world this summer.

“U.S. citizens traveling abroad in the near future should exercise greater than usual caution in light of the tension likely to follow such recent events as the June 26 military action against Iraq, the arrest of eight terrorists in New York and the bombing of the World Trade Center in February,” the advisory said.

Asked whether the advisory applies to Americans at home, McCurry said: “I think that the sense that we should be mindful of security, and mindful of the situation in the world, is something that would apply to those traveling here in the United States too.”