It is a matter of regret that America, and the United Kingdom have found it necessary to deal Kenya’s tourism industry a blow at a time when it is recovering from the slow-down brought about by the March 4 general elections by issuing travel advisories to their nationals.
The US advisory says the government has continued to receive information about “potential terrorist activities” in Kenya. The statement indicates that Nairobi and Mombasa are potential points of attacks based on the information they have received.
On the face of it, there is nothing untoward about a country warning its citizens not to visit another state, particularly when there is verifiable evidence that they would be in greater danger there than they would be at home. A closer look, however, reveals that an American is as likely to be killed in his own country — remember Aaron Alexis who got inside Building 197 at Washington Navy Yard, broke out a Remington 870 pump-action shotgun killing 12 people and wounding three on September 16, 2013?
Indeed, a plausible argument can be made that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre killed more Americans than those who have died in similar attacks outside the US.
What is more, despite the then National Security Adviser Dr Condoleeza Rice denying in 2002 that the attack was anticipated, numerous reports show that administration officials did, in fact, consider a scenario of planes being used as guided missiles against signature targets such as the World Trade Centre.
This should give a pause to some of the critics of Kenya’s security forces as it demonstrates the difficulty of second-guessing a terrorist attack even when there is initial intelligence there might be an attack.
Quite apart from its own failure to thwart terror attacks in its own territory, the US advisories can be faulted because they give comfort and succour to the enemy. After all, that is exactly what the terrorists would like to see; an America that retreats inside its own borders.
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