No Joke

1 April 2011: The State Department has upgraded its travel "alert" to a more significant "warning" about travel to Syria. The Department now advises citizens to defer non-essential travel and to consider departing if they are already resident in the country. The text is as follows:
"The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the potential for ongoing political and civil unrest in Syria. We urge U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Syria at this time. U.S. citizens currently in Syria should consider departing. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Alert for Syria issued on March 24, 2011, updating warnings to U.S. citizens and noting specific security concerns within Syria."