February 19, 2010

U.S. lifts Syria travel warning

As the Obama administration nominated diplomat Robert S. Ford to be the first U.S. ambassador to Syria since 2005, the U.S. has lifted its travel warnings for Syria, the State Department said.

The lifting of the travel warning comes as the top State Department counterterrorism official, Daniel Benjamin, holds meetings in Damascus this week, and as top U.S. diplomat Bill Burns met with Syrian officials earlier in the week.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Andrew Tabler writes that the U.S. is also considering lifting its veto on Syria's membership to the World Trade Organization. Damascus is particularly eager to get U.S. sanctions in place since 1979 lifted.

What does the U.S. want in return? Washington has a long check list: "In the short term, the United States wants the regime to return to talks with Israel and cut off the flow of jihadists into Iraq," Tabler writes in Newsweek. "In the long term, Washington wants Damascus to sign a treaty with Israel ... and end its support for Hezbollah and the Palestinian party Hamas (whose military leadership is based in Damascus)."

What's the long-term goal? Driving more of a wedge between Sunni Syria and Shiite Iran, Tabler writes. "That's why Washington is looking for creative ways to turn sticks (sanctions) into carrots (cash)."

The State Department notification of its lifting of the travel warning below the jump:

The State Department periodically reviews its travel warnings to ensure that they are up to date. Our goal is always to help American citizens make informed decisions about their travels and to be aware of any potential safety and security issues abroad.

· After carefully assessing the current situation in Syria, we determined that circumstances did not merit extending this Travel Warning.

· The current series of travel warnings were enacted in September 2006 following an attack against the Embassy, and were not based upon Syria being designated as a State Sponsor of Terror. Being a State Sponsor of Terrorism is not a basis for a travel warning.

· We have taken the decision to remove the current Travel Warning because the security situation no longer merits one. Review of the security situation is ongoing and we can disseminate a new Travel Warning as circumstances merit.

· We detail our concerns about Syria in the Country Specific Information sheet on Syria, which is available at travel.state.gov. This document talks about Syria’s ties to terrorist organizations and provides other pertinent information on safety and security in Syria.

· We encourage all Americans who are thinking of traveling abroad to read the Country Specific Information sheets for the countries they wish to visit.

· This decision was based solely on our careful assessment of the security situation on the ground in Syria and has no relationship to political discussions.

· Our assessment of the security situation is subject to ongoing review and can change at any time.

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