Behind The Scenes, Behind The Lines

Winter in NYC always seems cold, but when my other half is experiencing 50-degree San Fran weather and I'm here watching snow fall sideways into the courtyard behind my building, it feels just a bit colder. Hell, even if it were sunny and bright, it still wouldn't feel right.

Since she left it's been difficult for me to sleep (cue The Police's "The Bed's Too Big Without You") but knowing what's been going on at work, I'm guessing that my quadruple-deadline -- an annual statutory filing deadline and three big clients who need paperwork immediately -- might also be preoccupying my sleep. And on top of that, the news out of Lebanon and Syria, coupled with news that the US intercepted a communication between Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, should serve as a reminder that the worldwide virus of bile, terror and hatred might be dormant but it's still very much a real component to the modern world.

Earlier this month, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated; most fingers, including those of the US government, blamed Syria. Subsequently, the explosion in Tel Aviv was also attributed to Syria. Hence my prior assertion that Syria is joining the ranks of Iran and North Korea in the US's sights for future action, military or otherwise. Today, after current (and pro-Syrian) Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami could no longer withstand universal protests in Beirut by the people of Lebanon, the government collapsed and all high-level members thereof resigned. And until a new government is formed, Lebanon is a ship at sea without a port.

Between this development and the news out of Egypt last week that Mubarak, Egypt's PM, will allow multiple parties to participate in elections there, democracy in the Middle East is indeed on the rise, as was predicted by the Dubya Administration. Of course, the negatives are that there is still a collection of suicide bombers in and around Iraq and the Syrian government, which has always been something of a wild card, is a not-so-secret participant in assisting or perpetrating terrorist acts. Perhaps knowing she's treading on thin ice, Syria today miraculously located, imprisoned and turned over Saddam Hussein's half-brother to Iraqi forces, despite her government's assertions that they don't harbor terrorists and involve themselves in the conflagrations of other nations. The more things change, the more things stay the same: Syria's prior leader, Hafez Al-Assad, was a worthless, untrustworthy despot, and its current leadership is as two-faced and disingenuous as ever. Arlen Specter (R-PA), echoing the administration's growing dissatisfaction with Syria's pro-terrorist sponsorship, responded to comments from Syrian Cabinet Minister Bouthaina Shaaban on Sunday: "I think Syria is in deep trouble, unless they make big changes, and right away." All that's left is for Vince McMahon's WWE to create a Syrian bad guy character to be pummeled mercilessly by a patriotic wrestler, a la The Iran Sheik and Sergeant Slaughter.

Sometimes reál geopolitique isn't so complicated when you have a scorecard or professional wrestling to let you know what's going on. Although lately it seems like it's not, and will never be again, that easy.

Or as Bob Seger wrote: "Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then."