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U.S. issues travel alert for Europe, citing threat of terrorist attacks

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ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Sorry if posted -

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-europe-alert-attacks-idUSKBN17X2CV
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/01/politics/us-travel-alert-europe/

Reuters said:
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for Europe on Monday, saying U.S. citizens should be aware of a continued threat of terrorist attacks throughout the continent.

In the alert, the State Department cited recent incidents in France, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom and said Islamic State and al Qaeda "have the ability to plan and execute terrorist attacks in Europe."

The State Department's previous travel alert for Europe, issued ahead of the winter holiday season, expired in February. A State Department official said Monday's alert was not prompted by a specific threat, but rather recognition of the continuing risk of attacks especially ahead of the summer holidays. The alert expires on Sept. 1.

Malls, government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, airports and other locations are all possible targets for attacks, the State Department's alert said.
Click to expand...

Are they really that common to warrant a travel warning? Assuming it isn't deterring most from traveling.

Also, alternative headline, A country that had 384 mass shootings in one year just warned tourists against travelling to the UK
 
P

Pyrokai

Member
Thank goodness. What would I do if my wonderful US government didn't protect me from the horrors of Europe?
 
T

tearsintherain

Member
Fuck my parents are in Europe and flying back next week :(

That seems like an incredibly vague threat though, one the one hand you want to think its based on SIGINT intercepts of internet chats or SMS's but on the other hand you are pretty sure some mid level manager just says "well... its summer time... just put out an alert so our ass is covered".
 
F

Frankfurter

Member
Do they also issue travel warnings for their own country? It's way (like 4+ times) more likely to be killed in the US than in Europe.
 
G

GoldenEye 007

Member
Dirca said:
This happens every summer
Click to expand...

Not sure about that, but yeah the State Department did issue a blanket warning last year around this time, if not sooner.

Made getting travel insurance basically moot for our trip because all seemed to have clauses dealing with things like that.
 
D

Dierce

Member
The EU should issue a travel alert for the US on the basis of possibly being murdered by the police, a gun fanatic or a serial killer (you are more likely to me murdered by a serial killer in the US than a terrorist).
 
M

Mimosa97

Member
Hollywood Duo said:
Seems accurate to me. Should we pretend the attacks haven't happened?
Click to expand...

Nobody said that and I kinda understand the travel warning but it's laughable because the US as a country are way more dangerous than any country in western Europe even with the wave of terrorist attacks going on. The people who are really in danger are the european tourists coming to the US. It's not the other way around.
 
U

Ullus

Member
Lmao, bigger chance of choking on the food than getting killed by terrorists in Sweden. Or the whole of Europe for that matter.
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Famassu said:
Americans have probably killed far more people in the middle east in the last month than terrorists from the region have managed to kill in all of Europe in, like, the last decade...
Click to expand...
Completely irrelevant but yes you are correct.

Mimosa97 said:
Nobody said that and I kinda understand the travel warning but it's laughable because the US as a country are way more dangerous than any country in western Europe even with the wave of terrorist attacks going on. The people who are really in danger are the european tourists coming to the US. It's not the other way around.
Click to expand...
Probability wise neither is in any danger.
 
K

Kain-Nosgoth

Member
Hollywood Duo said:
Seems accurate to me. Should we pretend the attacks haven't happened?
Click to expand...

What if europe issued a travel alert for US, citing threat of being shot?

that's would be kind of stupid really, terrorist attacks are freaking rare, you're likely to die from a lot of other things while traveling
 
K

killer rin

Member
Dierce said:
The EU should issue a travel alert for the US on the basis of possibly being murdered by the police, a gun fanatic or a serial killer (you are more likely to me murdered by a serial killer in the US than a terrorist).
Click to expand...

Would be a good passive-aggressive stance to take
 
Z

Zolo

Member
Kain-Nosgoth said:
What if europe issued a travel alert for US, citing threat of being shot?

that's would be kind of stupid really, terrorist attacks are freaking rare, you're likely to die from a lot of other things while traveling
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's not like it's something people worry about on a day-to-day basis.
 
P

PatThePassive

Member
Mimosa97 said:
Nobody said that and I kinda understand the travel warning but it's laughable because the US as a country are way more dangerous than any country in western Europe even with the wave of terrorist attacks going on. The people who are really in danger are the european tourists coming to the US. It's not the other way around.
Click to expand...

Its an alert citing a threat of a possible terrorist attack, not a general if you go here you can die alert.

Sure the America is a killing field bit is funny but at least we ain't got no monarchy!
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Kain-Nosgoth said:
What if europe issued a travel alert for US, citing threat of being shot?

that's would be kind of stupid really, terrorist attacks are freaking rare, you're likely to die from a lot of other things while traveling
Click to expand...
Go ahead, these alerts are basically invisible to the general public. It's not a ban or even a restriction. It's a note on a government website.
 
E

ezrarh

Member
Dierce said:
The EU should issue a travel alert for the US on the basis of possibly being murdered by the police, a gun fanatic or a serial killer (you are more likely to me murdered by a serial killer in the US than a terrorist).
Click to expand...

You forgot the other one - you're over twice as likely to die in an automobile accident than you would in western Europe. Which is thousands of times more likely than a terrorist attack.
 
T

Taker666

Member
Terrorists would need to kill around 100,000 people in Europe on a yearly basis to match the murder rate across the Americas.
 
F

Famassu

Member
Hollywood Duo said:
Completely irrelevant but yes you are correct.
.
Click to expand...
Just meant that while there has been a "wave" of terrorist attacks, the absolute number of those is still very low, so a blanket warning for all of Europe is kinda silly. Like, there are still lots of countries in Europe where not a single terrorist attack has happened (at least not ISIS related).
 
H

Hickbilly Deluxe

Banned
Frankfurter said:
No it isn't. At least not compared with Western Europe.
Click to expand...

Actually it is. Yah, there are a few places you are wise to avoid at certain times, but tourists aren't likely to go there in broad daylight, let alone at night. Unless they want to see the slums, at night, when the cops aren't even remotely interested in trying to keep the peace.
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Taker666 said:
Terrorists would need to kill around 100,000 people in Europe on a yearly basis to match the murder rate across the Americas.
Click to expand...
I think you should check your calculations.

Famassu said:
Just meant that while there has been a "wave" of terrorist attacks, the absolute number of those is still very low, so a blanket warning for all of Europe is kinda silly. Like, there are still lots of countries in Europe where not a single terrorist attack has happened (at least not ISIS related).
Click to expand...
Fair enough I suppose. It's just a travel alert not really a big deal either way. It has no effect on anything.
 
P

pswii60

Member
PatThePassive said:
Sure the America is a killing field bit is funny but at least we ain't got no monarchy!
Click to expand...
..?

Just wondering where you are going with this, seems very random. Last I checked, the current British Monarchy hasn't killed anyone (albeit conspiracy theories about Diana).
 
P

PatThePassive

Member
pswii60 said:
..?

Just wondering where you are going with this, seems very random. Last I checked, the current British Monarchy hasn't killed anyone (albeit conspiracy theories about Diana).
Click to expand...

Just a joke, I tried to elaborate how the reaction from Gaf was missing the point and then follow it with a typical "Murica" at least we ain't got to worry about the Queen getting in our faces.

I was trying to point how Europe Gaf was overreacting while trowing in some self deprecation humor to show I'm not just blindly defending America


Also the specific bit I was trying to reference (skip to :40)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtxxwcQ20Fw
 
P

Pikelet

Member
It's baffling that people who are supposed to in charge of identifying risks are so ignorant of statistics, and so susceptible to availability bias.
 
Y

yanipheonu

Member
...And so, we're raising the Terror Alert Level to intense orange-red, based on very credible, detailed information on a non-specific threat. Could it be a hijacking? Absolutely possible. Chemical or biological agent? You bet it could happen. Suicide bomber? Hey, you never know. But what we do know is that it's absolutely, positively gonna happen today... maybe.

https://youtu.be/dxiddLVVXt0
It hit me that I can beleive the current American government saying this unironically.

you should honestly be more worried about getting sick at the airport
 
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