<p>This kind of news will certainly put a crimp on travel and study/work abroad opportunities.</p>
<p>A French tourist was abducted while on holiday. If this kind of thing continues to happen, I think that many Americans may opt to just stay closer to home. </p>
<p>My husband will be traveling to Asia next month. I am starting to worry. I was worried about him experiencing theft (not an unrealistic fear in this country) but now I have a new worry. Sigh. </p>
<p>I think the risks and odds are very slim and I would not change plans of this sort due to this low risk. There are certain countries I might not be apt to visit where conflicts abound, but otherwise, I’d live life as usual. I say that with a daughter who just moved to work in the UK. </p>
<p>Would not want any of my kids to travel to countries affected by the Ebola epidemic or to hike in the mountains in the Middle East. Also big no on travel to Russia or Ukraine. </p>
<p>I would certainly check for US State Department advisories before traveling. I would also check the CDC website and get appropriate vaccinations and/or medications. Those are just reasonable precautions. The article above is about travel to Algeria, and there has been a State Department warning about Algeria for some time now. </p>
<p>I say this as someone who traveled to Libya during the short time that it was safe (and loved it) and to Egypt before the Arab Spring events.</p>
<p>@bookreader Most Asian countries are fairly safe, even compared to parts of the US.</p>
<p>I don’t know that I would change my plans, but I wouldn’t travel to anywhere even near the Middle East right now except for Israel and Turkey. If I had to, I’d be extremely careful, carry a lethal weapon and know how to use it.</p>
<p>H was just on a flight from Munich to Chicago. Flight was delayed in Munich because (they were told) a passenger (happened to be sitting next to H) did not pass security. They took him and his luggage off the plane ( Not sure why he was able to get on the plane to begin with. . .took a very long time to find/remove the luggage.) H did not know where he was from, but passport was Arabic. There was large group of middle easterners together on the flight. Not sure what nationality.</p>
<p>No plans to do the Hajj, go vacationing in Sierra Leone, or fly over the Ukraine, so I think I’m good.</p>
<p>And I sleep so much better at night knowing the TSA is confiscating fingernail clippers. Pardon me while I stand w my pockets emptied, my feet apart and my hands up over my head…</p>
<p>“No plans to do the Hajj, go vacationing in Sierra Leone, or fly over the Ukraine, so I think I’m good.”</p>
<p>Hey, you had me until “fly over the Ukraine,” because how do you actually know what route you might be taking? And here you were thinking you were just going to fly from Cleveland direct to Los Angeles (insert evil laugh here). 8-X </p>
<p>" And I sleep so much better at night knowing the TSA is confiscating fingernail clippers. Pardon me while I stand w my pockets emptied, my feet apart and my hands up over my head… "</p>
<p>Are they still taking your fingernail clippers? They actually let me keep my eyebrow tweezers. I felt like I was getting away with such a dangerous item. Just think of what I could do with those flight attendants eyebrows…</p>
<p>Ynotgo - I know that most Asian countries are safe but this one has a large known Muslim population and there have been many ‘altercations’ between Muslims and everyone else in this country. </p>
<p>What mostly got to me after reading this article is something I’ve seen other places as well. This idea that anyone who stands with ISIS can do their part by killing others. Any others. Including innocent people who are just going about living their lives, not bothering anyone else. This idea that anyone who is not ‘us’ is by definition ‘an enemy’ and therefore should be killed. If this idea goes mainstream among ISIS/ISIL and it’s supporters, this means that no one is safe. And this disturbs me. </p>
<p>Busdriver - I don’t know about Turkey, but I would travel to Israel - anytime. There was a bit of a dust-up when I sent my girls there a couple years ago but, I had no worries for their safety. </p>
<p>The WSJ had an article early this month about ISIS-inspired activity in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia (I think it was written before those beheading plot arrests in Australia)</p>
<p>I travel frequently all over Asia now, and I feel safe. Unless you’re visiting rural areas in southern Thailand, Aceh, Sabah, or Xinjiang, you’ve probably got nothing to worry about. </p>
<p>In most countries (i.e. not places like Syria or Iraq), it seems like the chance of encountering a murderous criminal associated with IS is tiny compared to encountering a generic murderous criminal. It is not like Syria and Iraq are that safe outside of IS-related activity in any case.</p>
<p>A woman was just beheaded and another stabbed in Oklahoma (Vaughn Foods) and another stabbed.
The killer, Alton Nolen, was a worker who was just fired; coworkers said he had recently converted to Islam and tried to convert other employees. Nolen was shot on the scene by a company exec (or CEO, not sure) who is also an off-duty reserve deputy.</p>