State Department Travel Warnings Funny, Undiplomatic

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State Department Travel Warnings Funny, Undiplomatic

James Joyner | Friday, March 30, 2007

The State Department’s annual travel advisory guidelines “venture beyond the bland, carefully worded travel advice the State Department is normally known for, and are often downright undiplomatic,” reports AP’s Matthew Lee. Some gems:

“Driving in Qatar is (like) participating in an extreme sport.”
“Police involvement in criminal activity is both legendary and true in Mexico.”
“Be aware of drink prices” in Croatia’s gentlemen’s clubs, where tourists can “unknowingly run up exorbitant bar bills, sometimes in the thousands of dollars.”
“Despite Malta’s geographic proximity to Italy, organized crime is almost nonexistent.”
[In Qatar] “Drivers often maneuver erratically and at high speed, demonstrate little road discipline or courtesy, fail to turn on their headlights during hours of darkness or inclement weather, and do not use seat belts.”
“Reporting crime is an archaic, exhausting process in Mexico, and is widely perceived to be a waste of time.”

My personal favorite, though, is this one: “The tragedy of Haiti is that Haitians have become great leaders in every profession and in every country, with the exception of Haiti.”

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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