When I was at the Sen. Charles (or as peeps in the news biz call him occasionally - Chuckles) Schumer press conference earlier this week, one woman in the audience at Marra's pharmacy asked our state senator why the U.S. had an embassy in a Middle Eastern country like Syria. Her question was provoked due to an attack at the embassy this week.
The woman said the embassy had been bombed but everything I've read on it so far has said there was a storming of the embassy with people even going over the barbed wire to get in.
No one was hurt but there was some damage to the facility in Damascus.
Schumer answered the woman's question stating that anywhere that there are Americans or families of Americans there should be embassies.
While I see the woman's point that in these conflicted times having a U.S. presence in possibly conflicted areas might be bad news but we're used to it by now, aren't we? We're the World Police, for crying out loud. (not that I agree with that)
And, as someone who has been a tourist in Middle Eastern areas during not-so-quiet times, I appreciated knowing that there were U.S. embassies nearby and did take note of them, just in case.
It's a good idea to have them. It just might also be a good idea to put more barbed wire and higher walls around them, again, just in case.