BANANA WARS AND CHASTE CHEERLEADERS

摘要

Bashar al-Assad, Syria's embattled potentate, has turned his scorn on Turkey, describing its ruling politicians as being "carried away by dreams." Assad said of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government that "there are those among them who think themselves to be very smart. You may be very smart, you may be using a state-of-the-art computer, but your efforts will be in vain if you try to run an obsolete program on it." One doesn't have to endorse Assad's ungainly metaphor to grasp why he is displeased. In the days since the Syrian uprising began, Turkey has closed its embassy in Damascus, advised its citizens to leave Syria, hosted Syrian opposition groups and offered them "non-lethal aid," imposed sanctions on Damascus, and-et hi, Erdo-gan!-called on Assad to step down.