I have a soft corner for this Ugrik corner of the world, the region where Amhara was refined into a language we now know as Sanskrit: lucky Finns can now put on a straight face and claim they speak Finno-Ugric. Who wants to be Nilotic ! Baal, the principal god of the Fertile Crescent got his start here before taking over the Sumaria river basins. The oldest specimen of the Nile Rift script that finally took on the 'Roman' form was found here, dated back to 7000 years: it would reach Greek island shores a thousand years later. I watched a documentary last night. I had simply never imagined a Syria making such strides. Well dressed people shopped for lovely things in grand stores. They drove nice cars down well laid streets, lived in pretty homes, the mosques and churches, yes churches, were stunningly majestic. The Alawis, buffeted between the Ottoman north and Arab south, are only nominally Moslem: they need their wine, women and song more than anything else. The Assads were proactively secular, dedicated to creating an inclusive society, and the young president was specially committed to the mission. Concern about a resurgent Shia Iraq has Sunni countries working for a balance of power for the Arab world. They will rue the day. The Islamists who have now filled the vacuum will soon turn on their sponsors in Riyadh and Qatar, and Washington will certainly choke in a familiar ditch of Afghan style quicksand. eric.
