Security Message for U.S. Citizens
 

I feel silly abiut asking here but here I go....I just got an email: "Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Worldwide Caution", and this includes Europe. I am travelling to Rome next month and I wanted to ask any of you living in Rome if I should be worried. I really do not want to cancel my trip... any input, feedback would be really appreciated.
Thanks
Viri

Where did the message come from? The State Department?

It came from this address: [email protected]
U. S. Embassy Rome, Italy

Worldwide Caution

March 4, 2016

What did the message say other than "worldwide caution" which has very little meaning. How did the rome embassy get your email address?

Does that mean don't go anywhere? Move to your basement?

I looked at the state department web site and don't see anything for Italy except a strike that happened in Jan 2016.

I received the mail today too but mine came from Maltamessages... Why the difference? And I've never been or have plans to travel to Malta. ������

I was wrong, mine said ConsularMalta at State dot gov

I would imagine it's this

http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...e-caution.html

nothing new, nothing specific, other than reminding all of the risk of terror attacks in all parts of the world

there probably will be further terror attacks somewhere in Europe

no, you shouldn't cancel your trip

I wouldn't worry about it. That's just an update on the worldwide caution in effect for several years:
http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...e-caution.html

Other countries issue similar warnings for travel in the USA.

Thank God, it is a warning valid only for US Citizens.
We Europeans can still travel in these unsafe areas - whole of Europe, no less.
Phew.
Good to read that terrorists have devised bombs that target US citizens only... They call these 'smart bombs' I'm sure.

I received the same notification. It's just a general caution to US citizens traveling anywhere in the world.

To the OP, this is not the type or level of warning that should have you cancel your trip. Terrorist attacks existed last month and will next month and for the foreseeable future. Carry on.

Cancel your trip over a vague warning about danger that has existed for some decades now and will continue to be an issue as long as their are humans on this earth.
No. I wouldn't cancel.. and I have no plans to cancel my trip in May.. nor to advise my 19 yr old daughter who will be arriving in Rome in april.. ( backpacking with friends).

I suppose if I got a warning about a country about to go to war then I would cancel.. but for terrorism.. no , not because I don't think its a real danger, driving a car is a real danger too, but because the odds are it can happen anywhere ( as well the States now knows, even in their own country) and it can happen anytime, so the only way to avoid it would be to move to a cabin in the woods and never leave.

Justine
I've heard that Al Qaeda is training wolves to track these tourists hiding in the forests.
Nowhere safe.
But they teach them to ask for ID before biting...

These warnings are alarming but serve no purpose that I can see. You can get blown up in Rome, sure. Or Ankara. Or Paris. Or NYC. Surely we all know that by now!

What the OP is asking is reasonable: does this email mean something specific that I missed in the news?

It doesn't. So why do they send it??

If it is genuine how do they get your email address?

If you furnished an email address when you applied for or renewed your passport, that's how.

Why did mine come from MaltaConsular when I have no connection to Malta? I live in Sweden.

No clue. And in fact, I gave my email address on my renewal application and I did not get a warning. Did anyone check Snopes?

@ Finecheapboxofwine I got the one from Malta two...I got TWO too

I received two of those warnings this week, one specific to France and the other one about the whole world "including Europe."

The first one came from the usual address: [email protected]

The second one came from: [email protected]

These messages always says the same thing, and I imagine that they are just legal protection for the U.S. government from being sued by any of us if something bad happens. We can't say that they never warned us.

"These messages always says the same thing, and I imagine that they are just legal protection for the U.S. government from being sued by any of us if something bad happens. We can't say that they never warned us."

Yes, exactly. It's just a technicality. When a general travel caution is issued they are set for present time through a certain date. When that date comes they must renew or reset the date to keep the caution current. When it is renewed people will often get a notification either by email if they are on the books somehow or on Facebook, like I did because I follow the state page.

It may appear to the person receiving the notification to be a new warning and they might think it is a good idea to ask around, find out more info about it. This is a completely normal thing to do and a silly thing to make fun of.

The US State Department is always ridiculously alarmist. I never pay attention to their warnings until after I have also checked the UK and Canadian Foreign Office travel sites, and sometimes Australia as well. It is an old cliche that if the US State Dept. wrote a warning for the US no one would visit.

'This is a completely normal thing to do and a silly thing to make fun of.'

Normal in the US, silly and to be made fun of in Europe.

I'm European, so I find it completely silly. Different cultures I guess...

Finding it silly and making fun of the person for asking are two separate things. You can find it silly all you want without making fun of the person.

In a contest of silly I think making fun is sillier than asking. And I don't think it's an American vs European thing. I know Europeans that would agree. Just like there are Americans that would agree with you.

I was not making fun of the OP.

I'm making fun of the 'authorities' for issue such a worthless statement. We don't (yet) get such statements from our states just to put them in a safe situation : nobody in his right mind would (yet) sue the government for not repeating that it is a bad idea to travel, should something occur in foreign countries.

Well if you weren't making fun of the op never mind. I misunderstood, I hope the OP didn't. Make fun of my government all you want.

I too am surprised at the "sue the government" explanation.. I used to think Americans think about suing everyone for everything and this just proved my point. I did not know you even COULD sue your government.

I would be more nervous about travel to Orlando, Fl.

OMG, go, it is called an adventure!
When we let THEM control our choices THEY win.

Have a look at the UK Foreign Office advice on terrorism in the USA. Also look at their advice on Safety and Security.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/terrorism

As an American living in Europe, I've always felt safer here than in my home country.

@ Limmy: You are right! its just a technicality. However, when you have not visited a place ever before, you'd like to ask those living there too....they know best... that's all...I am NOT cancelling my trip at all... its like people saying Costa Rica has high crime and violence and I go there every summer and I have never ever experienced anything like it.

BTW, I had things stolen from me while I was at Disney once.... ugh! I probably perspired my lack of desire to be there and got "punished"....LOL

I suspect the fear of a Trump President has finally made even the US government raise the terror alert.

Yes, it's "blonde" now. Worse than orange.

Trump is now a tall gorgeous blonde ?

<i>However, when you have not visited a place ever before, you'd like to ask those living there too....they know best... that's all...</i>

Silly.

How local people could know better than you when and where the next terrorist attack will occur ? 102 out of 130 victims (speaking only of the dead) of the Paris attack of last November were French.

<i>its like people saying Costa Rica has high crime and violence and I go there every summer and I have never ever experienced anything like it.</i>

I don't know if Costa Rica has high crime or not but the fact that nothing bad happened to you proves absolutely nothing. You're not a statistic.

I travelled for 3 weeks in Afghanistan in 2003. I was not killed, kidnapped, mugged.. Everything went well but I would be an idiot to say that it is a safe travel destination.

@ Askar since you are here to analyze my comments, I should say that common said to me to ask locals to ask how things "look" over there.... Im not silly, that's why this forum is here for...TO ASK QUESTIONS...and if you are annoyed by it why are you here anyway.
I dont understand why when one wants to ask a simple question and need a simple answer one get bashed....
Peace out

ticalinda, you're the one who said you feel silly asking this question. As someone who lives in Europe, all I can say is things look pretty damn silly where you live these days, dangerous even.

Nothing dangerous or silly ever happens in Europe now that you live there. St. Cirq?

Nope. No mass shooting in Schools.

Wow...Im in shock how mean minded some people can be...
@ Whathello I live 30 min from where that shooting happened, I am also a teacher and I have small children.... you are a sick weirdo