Bloomberg View columnist Eli Lake reports that the U.S. Department of State on Thursday issued a seven-paragraph warning against travel to Syria. We’re not sure anyone in the United States has been looking forward to a trip to Syria for years now, unless their dream is to join up and train with the country’s outstanding JV team.
To its credit, no one’s going to mistake the State Department’s travel advisory for a tourism brochure. This is just one paragraph:
No part of Syria should be considered safe from violence. The potential for hostile acts exists throughout the country, including kidnappings and the use of chemical warfare against civilians. Shelling and aerial bombardment, including of densely populated urban areas, have significantly raised the risk of death or serious injury. The destruction of infrastructure, housing, medical facilities, schools, and power and water utilities has also increased hardships inside the country.
Lake might be angling for a government gig; his travel advisory says all you need to know and fits in just one tweet with room to spare.
.@StateDept just released 7 graf travel warning for Syria. They could have boiled it down to: “Are you crazy? Don’t go to Syria. Seriously.”
— Eli Lake (@EliLake) March 31, 2016
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@EliLake @StateDept Or just a GIF.
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) March 31, 2016
The State Department’s advisory even includes a reminder to wannabe terrorists that’s bound to be about as effective as a “gun-free zone” sign:
U.S. citizens are reminded that fighting on behalf of or providing other forms of support to designated terrorist organizations, including ISIL, can constitute the provision of material support for terrorism, which is a crime that can result in penalties including prison time and large fines.
Good to know.
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