Be scared. Be very scared. But not too scared.

Australians awoke this morning to find that the US government has issued a new terrorist alert that specifically mentions Australia as not just a likely target of Al Qaeda activity, but also a likely departure point for Al Qaeda operatives planning terrorism attacks abroad.

Baby-faced Foreign Minister Alex Downer and Tourism Minister Joe Hockey quickly lined up breakfast TV slots to assure Australians that the US information was incorrect. Australia was a safe place to live and travel, they said, and nobody should be cancelling their holidays on the basis of the US information.

"Travel is safe," said Mr Hockey. "It's essentially a very pleasant experience for most people."

The US Department of Homeland Security is now revising the warnings. A spokesman says they did not realise the language they used would cause confusion in Australia. Australia's top spy, ASIO head Dennis Richardson says it was "probably an honest bureacratic mistake,"

Well, that's crap. Either Australia is safe or it isn't. Either you have clear warnings of a terrorism attack, or you don't. Either you come clean with your information, or you shut up.

Sorry, boys, but you can't have it both ways...