A very good point, one I meant to make as well. I don't think permission from State should be required. At the same time, I don't think we should risk our soldiers' lives to rescue people who choose to go into dangerous situations.
If you found yourself in a difficult situation overseas, you might think differently.
Yes, some folks make extremely stupid and naive choices about their overseas activities, but that should not reflect on others who either (a) willingly accept risk with zero expectation of USG support, or (b) simply run into a reasonably unforseen situation (e.g., hijacking or kidnapping, terrorist attack while on vacation).
To be realistic about it, 75 percent of the world can be classified as "dangerous." Us Americans don't understand that much of the world operates on different rules than America.