Rumblings in the Sharq

Since my last brief post, I have been hearing much rumblings about changing attitudes in the Middle East. Syria and the U.S. are kissing and making up (albeit probably just modestly), while Syria’s relations with Lebanon are at the lowest they’ve been since the Cedar Revolution. This has caused (according to Watan al-Arabi) anger by Nasrallah who is “ridding his offices of Syrian influence” (or something to that effect). So if Hezbollah isn’t looking north for guidance or whatever, it will be looking east to Iran, which will likely increase its militancy towards Americans.

Of course all of this seems to have transpired whilst I was away for Eid/Christmas in Istanbul. So, upon my return, as I was being driven through Beirut and the rest of Lebanon, I had no idea that it probably wasn’t the best time to be there (beyond the usual words of caution from the State Department). I also have since discovered that it might not have been the best time to be traveling through Lebanon to get to Syria for the reasons mentioned above. This is what happens when wifi isn’t universal, I guess.

Having said that, I had wifi access in Istanbul and still the Christmas Day (or day after) bombing there slipped by unnoticed by me until just a few moments ago. I pretty much stayed in one area (where the English speakers were a-plenty), so I don’t think I was terribly close to the bombing. Truth be told, the most upsetting thing is that that happened without my knowing about it. Of course that may not be too surprising if you know me. I have a reputation for obliviousness, although to be fair, I was the first one where I was staying to hear of the Bhutto assassination. But that’s really neither here nor there.

And while I’m indulging in off-topic irrelevance, let me give a shout out to the Patriots for their perfect season. Pity ASU couldn’t have done the same (or even won their bowl game).

 

Pas de trois

Since wordpress has fallen afoul of Turkish authorities, I’ve had to hold off on posting. This one is going to be brief, however, as I get resettled. The topic: the recent American overtures towards Syria (allegedly in an attempt to isolate Iran). Honestly, I must say that I am puzzled by this - or, rather, by how our government can continue to pursue such policies. On the surface, it makes sense. Play nice with Syria and they’ll be less inclined to cozy up to Iran. The major problem that I see is that this puts the ball in Syria’s court. It can essentially blackmail (to use a strong word) US policymakers into doing its bidding just to avoid warmer Syrian-Iranian relations. This cannot be the long-term strategy for the US (or any government that finds itself in such a situation). I’m not sure what the solution is, but the current one is only a temporary remedy. I would hope that the policymakers are also taking into account long-term plans rather than taking the short-term view towards things (which they seem to have done a fair bit of at least since the Cold War). But I have faith in the government, thinking that if I can see this as being an issue, so can they and that there must be some other underlying reason I’m not aware of for them to pursue this strange policy.

 

What’s in a word?

Regional coverage of the events in Annapolis come from the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya news networks (think Fox and CNN for a reference point). Al-Jazeera is calling the event “the Annapolis Convention” while Al-Arabiya is calling it “the Annapolis Meeting”. Is that intentional? Certainly, a convention sounds more formal (and perhaps indicative of greater hopes of a workable outcome); but one cannot discount the possibility that one may be reading more into words than one ought to. If my Arabic were better, and I could more fully understand what the respective channels were talking about, I might end this mystery, but alas.

It may also interest the one or two people who read this blog to note that in the aftermath of the live remarks (that I watched on BBC World), I have yet to see coverage on the other main regional news channel, Al Manar (Hezbollah’s news station). Al-Manar has been more focused on discussing the ongoing political deadlock in Lebanon, relegating news of the Annapolis Convention/Meeting to the ticker like an amusing afterthought. Neither have I seen any coverage on the Syrian channel, but they rarely do the news to begin with.

Update: As I’m composing this, I’m watching the Syrian news. They’re calling it a “conference” as well. News of the conference is followed up by a discussion of the occupied Golan Heights and the UN.

 

Boosh al-azeem

Did you know that Bush is popular in Syria? Popular in a good way, I mean? Oh yes. It’s true. Of course, that is only if you are talking to a Kurd, of which there are many - at least there seem to be. It’s funny, though. As soon as they find out I’m American, they bust out with a smile and say something about Bush, giving him a thumbs up.

Speaking of thumbs up, if you can’t get enough of building exteriors looking earth toned, Aleppo is the place for you. Home Depot’s paint department would not do well ’round these parts.

Oh, and can I get an “amen” that Ramadan is almost over! No more cowering in the corner to snack on something so as not to offend anyone. But seriously, it wasn’t all bad. At least I got to look at earth-toned walls while I chowed down.