I don't see the issue as whether or not someone registers with the SD, the issue is if you choose not to register, then I for one do not think you have the right to complain if it is hard to register later during chaos. No one makes the right choices all the time, anyone could get in a jam- the point I tried to make is if you do get in a jam- you need to take at least some responsibility for your situation. It just doesn't set well with me when a person looks for others to blame instead of saying geez, I realize now I should have done x,y, & z- but can anyone suggest what to do now?
It also bugs me that so many do not understand that the US obligation to citizens ends when you leave the US (with some exceptions of course)to visit or work in another country. I truly believe the US does and should try to help US citizens in a jam in other countries- I just think one should have the attitude that whatever the US tries or gets done is great, instead of bashing them for what they don't do or the time frame.
I don't disagree that people who visit countries with travel warnings are taking a risk. But I don't think the US' obligation to its citizens ends when an American travels overseas. We have embassies specifically to protect American interests abroad. This includes providing consular services for Americans traveling to those countries. Granted, the level of protection provided by our consular services is a heck of a lot lower than that what should be expected in the U.S.
A lot of the problem with the federal government (and my biggest gripe about the Bush administration) is that it has NEVER done a good job of managing expectations. For example, instead of just giving a phone number to Fox News to put on its ticker, the State Department should have noted that due to the expected call volume, long wait times are expected. It should have told people not to try to call the embassy in Lebanon, if it knew that the phone infrastructure couldn't handle the deluge.
All things considered, I think the evacuation process has gone as best as could be expected under the circumstances. Some people seem to t the President can snap his fingers and magically have a hundred cruise ships and the entire Sixth Fleet appear in the middle of an active war zone to evacuate Americans. The real world doesn't work that way. Logistics take time to figure out, and become more difficult the further you get from the U.S.
Note that there is and has been a travel warning for Israel for years. If things start to get really dicey in Israel, there are a lot more Americans that will need to get evacuated than in Lebanon. Let's hope that doesn't happen.