US warns expats to get ready to come home

www.iol.co.za January 24 2003 at 10:53PM By Matthew Lee

The United States is advising US expatriates around the world to be prepared for emergency evacuations from their country of residence in the event of unforeseen circumstances, including war, the State Department said on Friday.

The department said it had sent cables to all US diplomatic missions abroad, instructing them to alert Americans in their jurisdictions to be ready for any eventuality amid increasing signs that military action in Iraq is looming.

Officials said the advice covers other eventualities, including natural disasters, personal emergencies and terrorism, but would not rule out a link between the cable and the situation with Iraq.

'I didn't say it was totally routine'"The department is asking all US embassies and consulates worldwide to send a warden message to local American communities with advice on preparedness for an emergency," said Susan Pittman, speaking for the department.

Warden messages are notices US embassies send to American communities in their jurisdictions that generally discuss terrorist threats, common crimes, natural disasters and other difficult situations they may encounter.

A senior department official said earlier that the cable had not been sent specifically in anticipation of a conflict with Iraq but pointedly would not deny that that possibility was behind the timing of the instruction.

"We thought it was appropriate to remind people to take ordinary and routine precautions," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "It mentions all the possible, various unforeseen events in the world."

The official said such instructions had been sent in the past but refused to describe Friday's cable as "totally routine."

"I didn't say it was totally routine," the official said. "I said we are doing this and we have done it before; it's just that we thought it was appropriate to remind people to take precautions."

Pittman, reading from the cable, said the embassies had been told to give US citizens "general steps" to follow to be prepared "for an emergency, whether it is a personal emergency or is the result of political or economic unrest, natural disaster or terrorist attack."

The cable provides a sample message for the embassies to impart, including advising people to store prescription drugs at hand, to ensure that passports and other documents are valid and to maintain adequate food supplies, she said.

"American citizens should always be prepared to depart a country quickly if necessary," Pittman said.

The cable notes that US citizens had in the past year been forced to hastily leave countries such as the Central African Republic, Indonesia, Israel, Ivory Coast and Venezuela, she said.