State Department issues worldwide caution to US citizens; embassy in Lebanon tells Americans to flee



The U.S. State Department issued an alert Thursday afternoon advising Americans worldwide to "exercise increased caution." Extra to this general warning, U.S. citizens in Lebanon have been told by the embassy in Beirut to hightail it out of the country if possible.

In its announcement, the State Department said that Americans abroad should "stay alert in locations frequented by tourists"; "enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive information and alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency overseas"; and "follow the Department of State" on social media.

The reasons given for this worldwide caution were increased tensions, the potential for terrorist attacks, and "demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests."

The State Department has recommended that U.S. citizens should especially exercise vigilance if located inEgypt, Iraq, Muscat, Oman, and America's supposed NATO ally Turkey.

These warnings come nearly a week after the State Department told travelers headed to Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza to "maintain a high degree of situational awareness[,] exercise caution at all times" and to identify the "location of the nearest bomb shelter."

The risk to westerners appears to have grown in Arab nations in recent days, as evidenced by the swarming of American, Israeli, French, and British embassies, reported the Telegraph.

Within hours of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stating, "The flames of the U.S.-Israeli bombs, dropped this evening on the Palestinian victims injured at the ... hospital in Gaza, will soon consume the Zionists," hordes gathered outside the British and French embassies in Iran, with some chanting "death to France and England."

Amid threats of fire farther afield, rioters in Beirut nearly set the U.S. embassy ablaze. Palestinian flag-waving and stone-throwing rioters managed to torch a neighboring building, but U.S. embassy spokesman Jake Nelson later indicated that "embassy personnel and facilities remain secure and undamaged," reported Reuters.

The New York Post indicated police had to deploy tear gas to disperse the rioters, but not before one demonstrator could scale the outer fence to attach a Palestinian flag to the embassy's flagpole.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut updated its travel advisory for Lebanon Wednesday, stressing, "Do not travel."

"We urge U.S. citizens not to travel to Lebanon. We recommend that U.S. citizens in Lebanon make appropriate arrangements to leave the country; commercial options currently remain available," the embassy noted on X. "We recommend that U.S. citizens who choose not to depart prepare contingency plans for emergency situations. ... U.S. citizens who need assistance should contact the U.S. Embassy in Beirut at BeirutACS@state.gov or +961-4-543-600."

For Americans whose confidence wasn't shaken after the Biden administration's botched Afghanistan withdrawal, the embassy further underscored the need to "have plans to depart that do not rely on the U.S. government."

The trigger for the latest anti-Western hostilities was the accusation by the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry that Israel had bombed the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza and killed hundreds.

Various Western media outfits helped stoke the fire by parroting the terrorist-linked ministry's claims, which have since been discredited. The New York Times, for instance, ran a front-page story entitled, "Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say."

The New York Times has since reported that American officials have since come to agree with Israel's assessment that the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Islamic Jihad had launched a missile that malfunctioned.

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The Biden administration determined Myanmar has been committing 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity'



The Biden administration formally determined that the military of Myanmar has been committing genocide against the country’s Rohingya minority.

CNBC reported that U.S. officials said that the Myanmarese military has been perpetrating acts of violence that amount to genocide and “crimes against humanity.” The Biden administration formally recognizing these acts as genocide will make it easier for the international community to hold Myanmar’s ruling junta accountable.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to announce the decision on Monday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is currently hosting a special exhibit on the plight of the Rohingya people.

The atrocities being carried out on the Rohingya date back to 2017 when Myanmar’s armed forces launched an operation that forced nearly 750,000 Rohingya from their homes and into the neighboring country of Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, the Rohingya people fell victim to mass rape, murder, and arson.

A senior official in the U.S. State Department said that formally designating the plight of the Rohingya as “genocide” will “make it harder for them to commit further abuses [against the Rohingya].”

Myanmar’s military has previously denied committing acts of genocide against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya. It has insisted that operations were carried out against terrorists in the region where the Rohingya historically reside.

In 2018, the United Nations concluded that the military’s campaign against the Rohingya included “genocidal acts.”

Another senior official in the State Department said that Blinken’s announcement on Monday will galvanize the international community to come to the aid of the Rohingya people.

The official said, “It’s really signaling to the world and especially to victims and survivors within the Rohingya community and more broadly than the United States recognizes the gravity of what’s happening.”

The first official echoed this sentiment by saying: “It’s going to enhance our position as we try to build international support to try to prevent further atrocities and hold those accountable.”

That said, a determination of genocide does not automatically initiate punitive action by the United States.

Just days after Joe Biden was sworn into office, the Myanmarese military staged a coup and seized control of the country.

The coup, led by Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing, quickly suppressed a public uprising and killed more than 1,600 people in the process.

In response to the coup, the United States and its Western allies sanctioned the military junta that took power but has been unable to convince them to relinquish power and restore democratic role.

Mike Pompeo receives millions of dollars in security each month due to 'serious and credible' threats from Iran



Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide while out of office are receiving millions of dollars worth of security from the State Department due to “serious and credible” threats from Iran.

The Associated Press reported that the U.S. State Department is paying more than $2 million per month to provide Pompeo and his former aide, Brian Hook, with 24-hour security.

The State Department told Congress that it cost $13.1 million to protect both men from August 2021 to February 2022.

The State Department’s recently published 2022 Annual Threat Assessment detail these expenses, according to CBS News.

Pompeo and Hook were key actors in the Trump administration’s campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran and, as such, have received intense death threats on a regular basis.

American intelligence assesses that the threats to their lives have remained constant since they left government and could intensify. Despite the Biden administration renewing negotiations with Iranian officials over the previously scrapped 2015 nuclear agreement, the threats against Pompeo and Hook have persisted.

As a former secretary of state, Pompeo was given 180 days of round-the-clock protection by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security after leaving office. But according to a recent report, the current Secretary of State Antony Blinken opted to extend the security detail in 60-day increments due to “a serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power arising from duties performed by former Secretary Pompeo while employed by the department.”

Hook — who worked closely with Pompeo to impose crippling sanctions upon Iran — was also granted this special protection by Blinken upon leaving government service.

Hook has been receiving 60-day security extensions similar to Pompeo.

The latest 60-day extension will soon expire and the State Department, along with the Director of National Intelligence, must determine by March 16 if the federal government should extend protections once more.

Current U.S. officials have said that the threats against Pompeo and Hook have been discussed in the renewed nuclear discussions.

In these discussions, Iranian diplomats are demanding the removal of all sanctions placed upon Iran by the Trump administration. This includes removing the label of “foreign terrorist organization” from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

These discussions have been paused in recent weeks as the Russian diplomatic envoy mediating the discussions raised concerns over Western sanctions on Russia in response to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials suggest that Iranian attempts to harass, intimidate, and harm American officials and journalists could continue.

US State Department requires Americans fleeing Ukraine to show proof of vaccination to enter Poland despite Poland not requiring proof of vaccination for travelers



The U.S. State Department announced Saturday that Americans fleeing Ukraine may enter Poland, but U.S. citizens must present proof of vaccination against COVID-19. This appears to be a U.S. State Department requirement since Poland does not require vaccinations against COVID-19 to enter the country.

"The security situation in Ukraine continues to be unpredictable due to the increased threats of Russian military action and can deteriorate with little notice," the announcement reads. "U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately using commercial or other privately available transportation options."

"Poland has indicated to the U.S. government that U.S. citizens may now enter Poland through the land border with Ukraine," the State Department bulletin notes.

According to the State Department, "U.S. citizens must present a valid U.S. passport and proof of COVID-19 vaccination" in order to gain entry into Poland.

"Travelers are also encouraged to present a negative test result from a PCR or antigen COVID-19 test," the notice states.

UKRAINE: Poland has indicated that U.S. citizens may now enter Poland through the land border with Ukraine. No advanced approval is required. U.S. citizens must present a valid U.S. passport and proof of COVID-19 vaccination. http://ow.ly/jINc50HTFla\u00a0pic.twitter.com/r6ahkXu5EL
— Travel - State Dept (@Travel - State Dept) 1644705737

However, Poland doesn't require U.S. citizens to be vaccinated to enter the country.

The official website of the U.S. embassy in Poland restrictions for Americans traveling to Poland:

Starting December 15, every person arriving in Poland from outside the Schengen area has to present a negative test result from a PCR or antigen COVID-19 test to enter the country. Children who are under 5 years of age are exempt from the testing requirement. There must be no more than 24 hours between obtaining the test result and crossing the border into Poland. Vaccination does not exempt an individual from the obligation to test. These regulations will be in place until February 28, 2022.

The official government website for the Republic of Poland:

Until February 28, 2022, travelers crossing the Polish border as an external EU border are required to present to a Border Guard officer a negative diagnostic test result for SARS-CoV-2, in Polish or in English, performed within 24 hours before crossing the border and counting from the time the test result was generated (the test can be performed either in the country where the person begins his/her journey, at the airport in Poland before the border check or within 3 hours after crossing the border). Any person who fails to present a negative test result to a Border Guard officer will be required to undergo a compulsory quarantine. In the event that a test is performed after crossing the border, the procedure for releasing a traveler from quarantine rests solely with the health inspection authorities, and as such, the traveler does not have to return to the border control area.

The Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) COVID-19 restrictions for travelers:

In accordance with the regulations of the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of May 6, 2021 on the establishment of certain restrictions, orders and bans in connection with the outbreak of an epidemic by February 28, 2022 - every person crossing the border of the Republic of Poland, constituting the external border (as a rule) is obliged to present a negative result of the diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 (in Polish or English) to a Border Guard officer (in Polish or English) performed, mainly before crossing the border, within 24 hours, counting from the moment of obtaining this result test.

The New York Times detailed the COVID-19 restrictions for Americans traveling to Poland:

Tourists coming from the United States may enter by air only. They can avoid a mandatory quarantine by presenting a negative test result (either P.C.R. or antigen) administered no more than 24 hours before arrival. The U.S. Embassy notes that on-arrival testing is also available at Warsaw Airport. Children under 5 are exempt from the test requirement. Anyone who fails to present a negative test result must quarantine for 14 days; however, this can be shortened if the traveler obtains a negative result on a P.C.R. test that is administered no sooner than seven days after their arrival.