No Room At The Inn

Lebanese authorities were forced to shut the doors

At their border on the flood of refugees that pours

Out of towns in Syria, where civil war and strife

Forces their civilians into fleeing for their life.

Millions of uprooted have escaped to nearby states,

Which has driven wages down and raised the housing rates,
Causing major problems for the native Lebanese

(With one quarter of their population refugees.)

Now, at last, they've had enough and won't take anymore;

This is not a problem which the world can just ignore.

Lebanon has done its part (and more) and so should we.

We must end the conflict that the Syrians now flee.

It's past time for all of us to take a long, hard look

At the wars we're fighting which, as People of the Book,

Seems a form of fratricide that nobody can win,

Which, in all religions, is regarded as a sin.

Middle East Update - Making Friends Wherever We Go.

Iraq isn't better with us gone; in fact, it's worse.

Sunnis and the Shia are both fighting to reverse

Any signs of progress that their country may have made.

Now, it seems, they're wishing that our weapons systems stayed.

Sharing common borders with the Syrians, Iraq

Is a frequent target of a suicide attack.

Someone blows themselves - and others - into bloody bits;

Almost every single day some random violence hits.

Saudis are unhappy we've not played a larger role;

Don't believe it's possible that we'll achieve our goal

Of a peaceful Middle East until Assad is stopped.

Israel's not thrilled Iran might get its sanctions dropped.

Egypt's mad at funding cuts (because they had a coup.)

Pakistan and Libya are angry with us, too.

Nation building's not our strength so, once a war gets won,

We should not just walk away from countries...  We should run.

Dear Secretary Kerry... Sincere Sympathies on Your Dream Job

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry...  Poor bastard.

Secretary Kerry has his work cut out for him;

Situation in the Middle East is pretty grim.

Civil war in Syria; the circumstances dire.

Innocent civilians getting caught in the crossfire.

Plus 2 million refugees have packed their things and fled.

Assad's neighbors have to try and keep those people fed.

War's been dragging on for 2 years now; no end in sight.

The United States stayed on the sidelines of the fight.

Now - so rumor has it - CIA is helping out;

Shipping arms to rebels so the battle's not a rout.

Trying hard to pick and choose who's gonna get the guns

In a region that's known warfare since Attila's Huns.

Egypt's on the brink of a collapse...  They're out of cash.

Thus, their fragile government may hit a wall and smash.

Even with intentions that are pure as driven snow,

Morsi's in a bind if the economy won't grow.

And, of course, there's Israel and Palestine, as well.

You call that the Holy Land?  It's more akin to Hell.

It's no wonder Hillary decided that she'd quit;

Let poor Secretary Kerry try to deal with it.

Across the Pond - Syria; "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat."

Photo credit/AP

 
Wish that I could say Assad has gone too far this time

And that he'll be punished for his latest, deadly crime.

Wish that little bodies were not lined up in the streets;

Shot or blown up babies hidden underneath those sheets.

True that Russia just condemned the massacre and yet,

Will they back that up with sanctions aimed at Assad? Nyet.

Everyone agrees that killing children isn't good

Even if they're living in a rebel neighborhood...

Saying only that and nothing more is not enough

But, without the full U.N., all we can do is bluff.

War's now spread to Lebanon as ethnic tensions flared;

Can't imagine other nearby nations will be spared.

Diplomats say Kofi Annan's plan is all there is.

I don't mean to tell the U.N. delegates their biz;

But, Assad's a killer shark.  The next  time that they vote

Hope they'll reconsider - think we'll need a bigger boat.

Across the Pond - Syrian Escalation

excerpted from
Article first published as Syria Fires Into Turkey and Lebanon on Technorati.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad (Photo credit: The Examiner)

I would think that escalation isn't what was meant

After all the time and effort Kofi Annan spent

Hashing out agreements with the Syrian regime

But, that's what he's gotten for his efforts it would seem.

Now, instead of winding down, Assad is ramping up.

Should we have anticipated he would do so? Yup.

But I never dreamed he'd dare to shoot and injure Turks,

Well across the border, doing refuge aid works.

Turkey's not the only country's border that's been crossed;

Lebanese photographer was also shot and lost.

It's not just the Syrians that Assad's people killed.

I would bet his few remaining allies weren't thrilled.

How much longer will it be?  How many more must die

Before Russians and Chinese are tired of the guy?

Very clear his promises to stop to the UN

Are a stalling tactic that will fail. What happens then?