G’day all
Today at the IEEE 802.11 WG closing meeting there was a brief discussion and straw poll on the question of whether the IEEE 802 Wireless WGs should consider a proposal for a future meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. The straw poll indicted broad
but not universal support. After the straw poll, I made some comments which I would like to repeat here.
While this e-mail is in the context of the proposal for a meeting in Istanbul, it is really about agreeing on a policy for choosing locations based on security considerations that is objective, rather than relying on individuals’ views
of the security of a location. Indeed from a personal perspective, I would love an opportunity to return to Turkey (I was last there in 1988) because it is an awesome country, with a fascinating history, populated by an incredibly generous and friendly people;
I felt safe there at all times.
That said, I believe it is inappropriate for us to plan a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey at this time, based on my proposed new policy that we should only plan to hold meetings at locations in the two lowest travel advisory categories defined
by the US Dept of State (or equivalent from another credible source)
Assumptions:
·
We have a responsibility to our members and their employers to plan meetings only in locations that are believed to be safe for our members. Of course, it is understood bad things can occur anywhere, at any time.
·
We do not have the skills within IEEE 802 to evaluate the security of any location. Therefore, we should outsource any evaluation to a credible source. I suggest we use the US Dept of State travel advisories as a credible source,
although there are many similar sources that could also be used.
The problem with Istanbul, Turkey is that Turkey is currently rated by the US Dept of State travel advisories as “3) Reconsider travel”. This is the second highest level, out of:
1)
Exercise normal precautions
2)
Exercise increased caution
3)
Reconsider travel
4)
Do not travel
In contrast, the advisories for our other planned future meetings indicate only Spain is above the lowest level:
·
Austria: 1) Exercise normal precautions
·
Vietnam: 1) Exercise normal precautions
·
USA: Take normal security precautions (based on Canadian Govt advisory)
·
Poland: 1) Exercise normal precautions
·
Canada: 1) Exercise normal precautions
·
Thailand: 1) Exercise normal precautions
·
Spain: 2) Exercise increased caution
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Andrew Myles Manager, Cisco Standards
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Andrew Myles |
Cisco Systems Limited |
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