Which Shakespeare play best captures Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds? Julius Caesar, perhaps, for pathos, Othello for the cold-blooded way it was done.
Tag Archives: Syria
“Et Tu, Brute!”–Betraying the Kurds
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Julius Caesar, Kurds, Macbeth, Othello, Turkey, William Shakespeare Comments closed
On Broken Ceasefires, in Homer & in Syria
The horrific bombing of a 31-truck aid convoy brought an end to the painstakingly negotiated ceasefire between Russian and the United States in Syria. The incident resembled how Hera and Athena break up the truce that the Greeks and Trojans are trying to negotiate in “The Iliad.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged broken truces, ceasefires, Homer, Iliad, Russia, Syrian aid convoy bombing, Syrian civil war Comments closed
Speak Now for Peace
Obama, take note: Vachel Lindsay in 1915 counseled against going to war even after the sinking of the Lusitania.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Two Poems written on the Singing of the Lusitania", American intervention, chemical weapons, Jane Addams, Leo Tolstoy, Vachel Lindsay, war Comments closed
Getting Tied Down in Syria
Is there a danger that U.S. involvement in Syria will lead to a Gulliver-like disaster?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift, Middle East, Shiites, Sunnis Comments closed
Syrian Violence vs. Our Humanity
Galloway’s “Cellist of Sarajevo” gives a face to the victims of violence.
Syria’s Massacre of the Innocents
Updating Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, Scott Bates imagines a soldier who takes a principled stand and refuses to participate.
Assad Came Down Like a Wolf on the Fold
The Syrian president’s assault on his people reminds me of Lord Bryon’s poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib,” where a superior force is defeated by the cause of justice. Time will tell whether this is no more than a fantasy.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Destruction of Sennacherib", Arab awakening, Lord Byron, Protest movement Comments closed
Refugees Dropped in a Fantastic Terrain
As I watch the brutal repression currently underway in Syria, I am reminded of Syrian-American poet Mohja Kahf’s poem about her family fleeing to America from Assad’s father in 1971.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Roc", Arab Spring, Immigration, Mohja Kahf, politics, refugees Comments closed
