The newest list condemns the following places: Nepal, Lebanon, Yemen, Georgia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Colombia, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Pakistan, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Philippines, Israel, The West Bank and Gaza, Burundi, Sri Lanka, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Somalia, Chad, Kenya, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Iraq.

It's important to note that countries are placed on the list if certain portions of them are deemed unsafe, even though other areas are entirely safe. Thus, it is only the southernmost area of the Philippines that is regarded as unsafe, and certainly not the city or area of Manila; yet the Philippines are listed as if the country were totally unsafe. Similarly, tourism has now returned in large numbers to Israel (a country on the list), which is regarded as unsafe only in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Visitors to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa would argue heatedly that they are today entirely safe.

I also question the continuing inclusion of Kenya and Colombia on the list. Safari-goers travel in large numbers to Nairobi, and from there into the games parks of Kenya, without experiencing difficulty or danger. And tour operators all over the world will insist that Colombia has now become safe for tourism; only some remote border areas show vestiges of an insurgency that was quite powerful several years ago but has considerably weakened today.

For a comparative set of opinions about which nations are unsafe for the Western tourist, you might want to review a similar list of warnings issued by the British Foreign Office (www.fco.gov.uk/en/), which actually splits its recommendations into two parts: the countries where it advises against all travel, and the countries where it advises against all travel to parts of those countries. This seems a far better approach than the one taken by our State Department.

Britain's Foreign Office finds only one country — Somalia — worthy of a warning against all travel of any kind. It finds only six countries (Burundi, Central African Republic, East Timor, Guinea, Mauritania and Yemen) where it warns against all but essential travel. Thirty-two other countries — mainly the ones listed by our State Department — receive warnings against travel to parts, but not all, of those countries. Reviewing the Web site, you simply click on the country in question to learn details about areas within those countries that are deemed unsafe.

This seems a far wiser approach than ours. If you are in doubt about your plans to one of these "iffy" nations, you might want to explore the nuanced recommendations of Britain's Foreign Office.