it's about time that the state department drop its travel advisory for syria. when i visited syria in 2005, the advisory was something of a joke. syria was possibly the safest place i have ever been. it's a police state! unlike a lot of places i've been (including philadelphia), i didn't have to worry about muggers or pickpockets at all. the warning had more to do with politics than any actual danger. which is why plenty of people, like me, disregarded the warning and went anyway. it really was pretty common to meet another american in damascus. politically motivated warnings just end up discrediting the travel advisory system.
i'm glad they're finally dropping this one about syria, but the fact that the obama administration is still presenting the change as some sort of olive branch to damascus isn't a good sign either. if it were a credible system, a change in the advisory shouldn't be considered a gesture in either direction.
