US issues rare global travel alert over terror threats

[webfact]

US issues rare global travel alert over terror threats

WASHINGTON: -- The US has issued a rare global travel alert for its citizens in response to "increased terrorist threats".

The state department said "current information" suggested the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and others continued "to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions".

The alert, it said, will remain in place until 24 February 2016.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34907009

-- BBC 2015-11-24

[ezzra]

What happened? only 2 days ago, in Malaysia, Obama said that he will not let IS install fear and intimidations on the US and now this warning? what has gone wrong I wonder? so the people in the US should be worried and alert yes?

[chiang mai]

And didn't he caution against over reaction!

[trogers]

Apparently, the US can function (better?) without Obama...

[Credo]

ISIS has made threats in a number of countries. Issuing an alert is a prudent thing to do. The alert was not issued by Obama; it was issued by the US gov't.

[craigt3365]

ISIS has made threats in a number of countries. Issuing an alert is a prudent thing to do. The alert was not issued by Obama; it was issued by the US gov't.

Funny how Obama gets blamed for everything! LOL

These security alerts are also for legal protection. If you research the French lawsuits that resulted from the kidnappings on Sipidan Island many years ago, you'll understand why many countries do these now. Legal protection. We told you to be careful! LOL

[lee b]

So after the 24th February it will be all safe?

[Seastallion]

And didn't he caution against over reaction!

You imply the warning is an over-reaction. Would you like to stick your neck out and say the warning is non-founded?

Anyway, the "over-reaction" cautioned about relates to senseless rabid anti-Muslim violence and rhetoric, not to being prudent.

[Seastallion]

So after the 24th February it will be all safe?

Yes, Lee, that's what it means.

PS. I typed that very slowly so you could read it....and hopefully grasp the sarcasm.

[Tatsujin]

So after the 24th February it will be all safe?

Yes, Putin will have solved the problem by then.

[willyumiii]

Yes, yes, yes..

It is much wiser to ignore terrorist threats until it is too late.

Just like the hero GW Bush did before the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Yep, that's the way to do it!

"Don't worry folks.

Go out, have a good time.

Don't worry.

Don't be careful or eeven aware of what is going on.

and be sure to spend a lot of money!"

[kiwikeith]

ISIS has made threats in a number of countries. Issuing an alert is a prudent thing to do. The alert was not issued by Obama; it was issued by the US gov't.

Makes you feel very safe when flying.

[webfact]

US issues travel warning in wake of terror attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans should be alert to the possible travel risks, especially during the holidays, following increased terrorist threats around the world, the State Department warned on Monday.

A travel alert, which is to be in effect until Feb. 24, said current information suggests that militants with the Islamic State, al-Qaida, Boko Haram and other terrorist groups continue to plan attacks in multiple regions. U.S. authorities said the likelihood of terror attacks will continue as members of IS return from Syria and Iraq, and other individuals not affiliated with terror groups engage in violence on their own.

Extremists have targeted sporting events, theaters, open markets and aviation targets. In the past year, there have been multiple attacks in France, Nigeria, Denmark, Lebanon, Turkey and Mali. IS has claimed responsibility for the Oct. 31 bombing of a Russian airliner in Egypt, killing 224 people.

"U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation," the alert said. "Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events."

The State Department said the U.S. is exchanging information with allies about threats of international terrorism.

The travel alert was issued the same day that Belgium's prime minister announced that Brussels would remain at the highest alert level for at least another week. The increased security measures following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people have virtually shut down the Belgian capital.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-11-24

[khwaibah]

This why I'm only visiting the local karaoke bars.

[Benmart]

I appreciate the email advisories the US State Department sends to my email by my request. These advisories afford some legal protection to the US Government that the warning and advisories are there. Whether one heeds them is up to them.

If there were no advisories, some would complain; much like those that complain about the current advisories.

My profession is living peacefully, b3ing nic3, avoiding negative forces and living one day at a time.

[chuckd]

This is a State Department CYA.

I've been getting them since 1978 in some shape, form or fashion.

The only ones you can rely on are those that provide specific information about a threat, and they are few and far between.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Yes, yes, yes..

It is much wiser to ignore terrorist threats until it is too late.

Just like the hero GW Bush did before the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Yep, that's the way to do it!

"Don't worry folks.

Go out, have a good time.

Don't worry.

Don't be careful or eeven aware of what is going on.

and be sure to spend a lot of money!"

And then Bush overreacted and created the mess that has now led the way for ISIS to exist. But of course some will still blame Obama for the mess he was left to deal with while the Bush's and Cheney's and their friends enjoy the billions they made at the expense of the rest of the world.

[willyumiii]

Yes, yes, yes..

It is much wiser to ignore terrorist threats until it is too late.

Just like the hero GW Bush did before the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Yep, that's the way to do it!

"Don't worry folks.

Go out, have a good time.

Don't worry.

Don't be careful or eeven aware of what is going on.

and be sure to spend a lot of money!"

And then Bush overreacted and created the mess that has now led the way for ISIS to exist. But of course some will still blame Obama for the mess he was left to deal with while the Bush's and Cheney's and their friends enjoy the billions they made at the expense of the rest of the world.

You forgot to mention all of the lives that were and are still being lost and destroyed of both Americans and other innocent people so these wealthy war criminals could get even richer..that is the biggest expense!

[LawrenceChee]

Pity only the Americans always feel unsafe in the world ...about time to exercise some common sense and just enjoy life

Most of us do and we have no warnings or emails issuance whatsoever from our governments ...we just live without fearing the skies are falling on our heads

[chuckd]

First page and the Yank bashers are out in force. Have fun.

[beechguy]

Yes, yes, yes..

It is much wiser to ignore terrorist threats until it is too late.

Just like the hero GW Bush did before the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Yep, that's the way to do it!

"Don't worry folks.

Go out, have a good time.

Don't worry.

Don't be careful or eeven aware of what is going on.

and be sure to spend a lot of money!"

And then Bush overreacted and created the mess that has now led the way for ISIS to exist. But of course some will still blame Obama for the mess he was left to deal with while the Bush's and Cheney's and their friends enjoy the billions they made at the expense of the rest of the world.

Yes, before GW the world was a perfect place. Well, except Clinton getting two Embassies blown out from under him in 1998, Somalia, Khobar Towers, Riyadh bombing, U.S.S. Cole, etc. I don't recall Bush, bitching about the mess Bill left behind.

If Obama didn't want the job, he should of kept his mouth shut. But he didn't, and has gone on to prove what many of us stated from the beginning, he is an incompetent amatuer.

Edited November 24, 2015 by beechguy

[NeverSure]

ISIS has made threats in a number of countries. Issuing an alert is a prudent thing to do. The alert was not issued by Obama; it was issued by the US gov't.

Funny how Obama gets blamed for everything! LOL

These security alerts are also for legal protection. If you research the French lawsuits that resulted from the kidnappings on Sipidan Island many years ago, you'll understand why many countries do these now. Legal protection. We told you to be careful! LOL

Obama is the chief executive of the Executive Branch of the US Government. The government has three branches - Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. The first two are self explanatory and the third includes all of the bureaucracies and government agencies.

All in the Executive Branch work directly for Obama.

Now, if I'm the CEO of VW and the place goes <deleted> up, I'm probably going to lose my job and perhaps a lot more. If I'm Obama and the national debt doubles on my watch or other things go <deleted> up, apparently I get a pass. Well, according to some on here...

These warnings were issued by the State Department which is run by John Kerry, Secretary of State. Kerry was nominated by and works for Obama.

Cheers.

Edited November 24, 2015 by NeverSure

[craigt3365]

Understood. But how will things go pear shaped based on a travel alert? Dozens get issued every year. A CEO can never know all the details of what goes on under him. Just impossible. Especially for things like this that are just ordinary communications. Not worth the precious time of a CEO. Right?

And as has been mentioned here a few times, these are CYA notices. Something overlooked by many on here.

[willyumiii]

Pity only the Americans always feel unsafe in the world ...about time to exercise some common sense and just enjoy life

Most of us do and we have no warnings or emails issuance whatsoever from our governments ...we just live without fearing the skies are falling on our heads

Those of us Americans who choose to live outside of the United States are very vulnerable when our government does things people of other countries get upset about..

and the American government is pretty arrogant does that fairly often.

Thos of us outside of our home country need to keep aware of world situations, how they reflect on American citizens, and take reasonable precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe.

Thailand is not Disneyland, and has not been engineered for our safety and entertainment.

If you are not prepared to keep informed and heed warnings, you would be much safer back in America.

[LawrenceChee]

Pity only the Americans always feel unsafe in the world ...about time to exercise some common sense and just enjoy life

Most of us do and we have no warnings or emails issuance whatsoever from our governments ...we just live without fearing the skies are falling on our heads

Those of us Americans who choose to live outside of the United States are very vulnerable when our government does things people of other countries get upset about..

and the American government is pretty arrogant does that fairly often.

Thos of us outside of our home country need to keep aware of world situations, how they reflect on American citizens, and take reasonable precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe.

Thailand is not Disneyland, and has not been engineered for our safety and entertainment.

If you are not prepared to keep informed and heed warnings, you would be much safer back in America.[/quote

I like the second paragraph as its honest and real ....I live in Chiangmai and it's no Disneyland but extremely safe as long as you follow the international code of common sense

I like it here a lot

[NeverSure]

Understood. But how will things go pear shaped based on a travel alert? Dozens get issued every year. -snip-

The OP headline is that it's a rare global travel alert, not one of "dozens every year".

I'm not saying that it's wrong to issue the alert, but rather that I don't believe Obama didn't know about it. "The buck stops here" has always applied to CEO's and if they don't know what's happening on important things, they get blamed for not knowing and for the people they chose to work under them.

This is a very unusual circumstance and worthy of an international headline.

Cheers.

[craigt3365]

There are dozens of travel alerts every year for various parts of the world. I get them from the US embassy here. You are right that ones like this don't come out very often, but they do come out from time to time. Normally when they think something is coming up. Like now?

Crazy times, eh?

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Yes, yes, yes..

It is much wiser to ignore terrorist threats until it is too late.

Just like the hero GW Bush did before the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Yep, that's the way to do it!

"Don't worry folks.

Go out, have a good time.

Don't worry.

Don't be careful or eeven aware of what is going on.

and be sure to spend a lot of money!"

And then Bush overreacted and created the mess that has now led the way for ISIS to exist. But of course some will still blame Obama for the mess he was left to deal with while the Bush's and Cheney's and their friends enjoy the billions they made at the expense of the rest of the world.

Yes, before GW the world was a perfect place. Well, except Clinton getting two Embassies blown out from under him in 1998, Somalia, Khobar Towers, Riyadh bombing, U.S.S. Cole, etc. I don't recall Bush, bitching about the mess Bill left behind.

If Obama didn't want the job, he should of kept his mouth shut. But he didn't, and has gone on to prove what many of us stated from the beginning, he is an incompetent amatuer.

And the world trade centers were dropped under Bush's time in office, did he keep his mouth shut? He was arguably the most incompetent president the US has ever had.

Him and his cabinet are hugely responsible for creating the mess in the middle east so I really don't understand what you are trying to prove with your deflective comment.

It is clear you don't like Obama but at least have the decency to look at the facts and place blame where is deserves to be placed.

[chuckd]

Yes, yes, yes..

It is much wiser to ignore terrorist threats until it is too late.

Just like the hero GW Bush did before the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Yep, that's the way to do it!

"Don't worry folks.

Go out, have a good time.

Don't worry.

Don't be careful or eeven aware of what is going on.

and be sure to spend a lot of money!"

And then Bush overreacted and created the mess that has now led the way for ISIS to exist. But of course some will still blame Obama for the mess he was left to deal with while the Bush's and Cheney's and their friends enjoy the billions they made at the expense of the rest of the world.

Yes, before GW the world was a perfect place. Well, except Clinton getting two Embassies blown out from under him in 1998, Somalia, Khobar Towers, Riyadh bombing, U.S.S. Cole, etc. I don't recall Bush, bitching about the mess Bill left behind.

If Obama didn't want the job, he should of kept his mouth shut. But he didn't, and has gone on to prove what many of us stated from the beginning, he is an incompetent amatuer.

And the world trade centers were dropped under Bush's time in office, did he keep his mouth shut? He was arguably the most incompetent president the US has ever had.

Him and his cabinet are hugely responsible for creating the mess in the middle east so I really don't understand what you are trying to prove with your deflective comment.

It is clear you don't like Obama but at least have the decency to look at the facts and place blame where is deserves to be placed.

"It is clear you don't like Obama but at least have the decency to look at the facts and place blame where is deserves to be placed."

And it is equally clear you have the same level of disdain for President Bush.

Liberals have attacked Bush numerous times on this forum and have not one time bothered to look at the fact that the Democrats in both the House and the Senate approved the use of force in Iraq in 2002.

Without the concurrence and approval of numerous elected officials from the Democratic party, the war in Iraq could not have moved forward.

Why do the liberal progressives continue giving Hillary Clinton, John Kerry Joe Biden and 26 other Democrat Senators a free pass?

The Arab Spring is thought to have begun with Obama's speech in Cairo where the Muslim Brotherhood was honored with front row reserved seats at the request of President Obama. The revolutions in the Middle East began with the Arab Spring and were exacerbated by decisions made by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to bomb Libya, now followed by the mess in Syria.

You want to blame somebody for ISIS? How about blaming the Obama administration for refusing to secure a Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government and leave a contingent of US military to help prop up the Iraqi government? When Obama pulled out all of the US troops a security void was created. Al Qaeda became ISIS and filled the void.

When will you people believe Obama is responsible for anything? He has been in office nearly seven years and still refuses to accept responsibility for the actions of his administration and his supporters blithely skip along whistling their merry tune, now named "Blame it on Bush".

Decency works better when it is applied to both sides of the street.

Thank you for listening.

[lostboy]

And then Bush overreacted and created the mess that has now led the way for ISIS to exist. But of course some will still blame Obama for the mess he was left to deal with while the Bush's and Cheney's and their friends enjoy the billions they made at the expense of the rest of the world.

Yes, before GW the world was a perfect place. Well, except Clinton getting two Embassies blown out from under him in 1998, Somalia, Khobar Towers, Riyadh bombing, U.S.S. Cole, etc. I don't recall Bush, bitching about the mess Bill left behind.

If Obama didn't want the job, he should of kept his mouth shut. But he didn't, and has gone on to prove what many of us stated from the beginning, he is an incompetent amatuer.

And the world trade centers were dropped under Bush's time in office, did he keep his mouth shut? He was arguably the most incompetent president the US has ever had.

Him and his cabinet are hugely responsible for creating the mess in the middle east so I really don't understand what you are trying to prove with your deflective comment.

It is clear you don't like Obama but at least have the decency to look at the facts and place blame where is deserves to be placed.

"It is clear you don't like Obama but at least have the decency to look at the facts and place blame where is deserves to be placed."

And it is equally clear you have the same level of disdain for President Bush.

Liberals have attacked Bush numerous times on this forum and have not one time bothered to look at the fact that the Democrats in both the House and the Senate approved the use of force in Iraq in 2002.

Without the concurrence and approval of numerous elected officials from the Democratic party, the war in Iraq could not have moved forward.

Why do the liberal progressives continue giving Hillary Clinton, John Kerry Joe Biden and 26 other Democrat Senators a free pass?

The Arab Spring is thought to have begun with Obama's speech in Cairo where the Muslim Brotherhood was honored with front row reserved seats at the request of President Obama. The revolutions in the Middle East began with the Arab Spring and were exacerbated by decisions made by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to bomb Libya, now followed by the mess in Syria.

You want to blame somebody for ISIS? How about blaming the Obama administration for refusing to secure a Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government and leave a contingent of US military to help prop up the Iraqi government? When Obama pulled out all of the US troops a security void was created. Al Qaeda became ISIS and filled the void.

When will you people believe Obama is responsible for anything? He has been in office nearly seven years and still refuses to accept responsibility for the actions of his administration and his supporters blithely skip along whistling their merry tune, now named "Blame it on Bush".

Decency works better when it is applied to both sides of the street.

Thank you for listening.

Quite stunning revisionism Charles. Since you only get CNN up there in the jungles of the NE, you will have surely seen Zareed Zakaria's special on ISIS. I get a few more channels here on my mission in Kabul but it has been repeated about 5 times since I transited through Dubai.

You lot gave the world to GW. He broke it. Now the process of influencing the historical record continues.

On the issue of the support for the Iraq decision - remember the Dixie Chicks? They came from your neck of the woods didn't they? The Republican Attack Machine was in overdrive during that time. Who chose Malaki to be President of Iraq? Who passed Iraq to a new Administration without a Status of Forces Agreement? Who spent the bulk of the $25bn on training the Iraq army only to have them run away like the did in the First Gulf War. Luckily there weren't any Fox New anchors in Iraq at the time. Hannity and the rest of the morons could have claimed themselves heroes by 'capturing' whole divisions.

US policy in this region has been faulty and dysfunctional under multiple, different administrations. But really, to be so partisan is quite incredible and makes one wonder if you truly believe this or is it just part of the game?