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Preferred Targets
Err Travel · August 10, 1999

On June 10th the U.S. State Department issued a “Worldwide Caution” – a little reminder, as it were – about the dangers facing Americans traveling overseas. Coming on the heels of the release of the State Department’s annual overview of international terrorist activities, this seems like a good time to review those dangers.

In Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1998, the government covers terrorist activities from Argentina to Yemen and includes information about political bad boys from Manila’s Alex Boncayao Brigade to Zviadists operating in Georgia and Russia.

A few statistics from the report:

There were 273 international terrorist attacks in 1998. That’s less than half the number of attacks of a decade ago, 10 percent less than a year ago and the lowest total since 1971.

In stark contrast, 741 people were killed and 5,952 injured, the highest number on record.

Most of the casualties resulted from the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. There were 291 killed and about 5000 wounded in Nairobi; 10 killed, 77 wounded in Dar es Salaam.

Although the Embassy bombings accounted for the most casualties, the majority of attacks (70 percent) were against businesses, and only 3% of the casualty victims were government employees or military personnel.

Bombings accounted for 60 percent of all terrorist events.

U.S. targets were the recipients of 40 percent of the attacks.

The majority of attacks against U.S. interests -- 77 -- were bombings of a multinational pipeline in Columbia that terrorists regard as American.

What’s the capsule summary of this report? Last year’s terrorists were, as usual, politically rather than economically motivated. They intended to influence public opinion by carrying out large-scale, high-visibility, multiple-victim attacks having at least one symbolic meaning, if not more. Bombing of crowded locations continued to be their preferred modus operendi because of the mass destruction that it caused -- particularly mass killing -- while allowing the perpetrators to distance themselves from the mayhem.

What does this mean to you? It should reinforce your perception that the world is a dangerous place and that Americans are high-priority targets of criminal fanatics. It also means that you must exercise caution, not only during your trips but also when you choose where you will travel.

What can you do?

Don’t be naive. Learn about the dangers of your destinations. As I have mentioned in this column, the U.S. State Department’s Travel Warnings are a good place to start. Don’t -- I repeat -- don’t rely on information from those who have a self-interest in seeing you travel to a specific destination.

Don’t be stupid. Once you determine that a locale is dangerous, don’t go. It’s not uncommon to hear surviving victims reporting, “Yes, I knew it was dangerous, but I thought it would be okay for just a few days. And our guide said we’d be safe.”

Don’t get overwrought. Sure, innocent people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time do get killed in terrorist attacks. But only a miniscule percentage of the millions of annual travelers ever come close to being casualties of terrorism.

You are at far greater risk of becoming a victim of a street criminal who is more interested in grabbing your wallet than in grabbing headlines.

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at riley@appliedpsychology.com.