MN Travelers Express Concern Over Travel Alerts
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- After a U.S. drone strike killed four alleged al-Qaida members in Yemen, the State Department is telling non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country.
The order follows a threat by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.
MN Travelers Express Concern Over Travel Alerts
David Johnson and his wife Kathy are leaving the Twin Cities for Amsterdam on Tuesday, and now have some trepidations.
"I guess we are concerned, but we are not going to change our plans," Johnson said.
University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs Dean Eric Schwartz said the information gathered by the administration should be taken seriously.
"For example, in Yemen, the travel alert for Americans is that they should get out," Schwartz said. "Well, I would take that damn seriously."
Schwartz, a former state department official, said the department's website lists countries where there are alerts in effect, and he suggests that anyone traveling over-seas should check it out before they go.
