2013's Bleeding Sore

There are ample conflicts in the world. Mostly in the developing world, and mostly in Africa. Although certainly not confined to Africa. Come to think of it, perhaps Africa will have to take second-fiddle to the Middle East this year as the geographic global area whose dissolution from semi-order into chaotic bloodshed has distinguished it in a world weary of conflict, but incapable of avoiding it because of the imperfections of human nature.

Human nature in particular that embraces tribalism, religious sectarian animosities, and viral ethnic divisions. Africa and the Middle East are bleeding desperate migrants in ever greater numbers. Where people desperate to escape from incessant war and death and maiming, starvation and privation of all kinds, terrorized beyond their love of country to attempt sea and overland voyages of refugee-seeking haven anywhere but home drown or starve in the process from ocean crossings to desert crossings.

In the Middle East and North Africa, tribalism and sectarian hatred has led to ongoing violence in Libya, in Egypt, in Lebanon, in Iraq, and mostly in Syria, which has become a veritable charnelhouse of brutal, no-holds-barred blood-letting, from the government forces to their opposing Islamist militias; Shia against Sunni -- each viewing the other as heretics, worse than Infidels, but marginally better than Jews.

Although the insurrections in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon and Egypt are bubbling, they are not yet at the boiling point, nowhere close to where total breakdown of hope for humanity exists, as it does in Syria. Where the regime forces encircle suburbs of the country's capital, preventing medicine and food to enter, resulting in the death by starvation of Syrian civilians unfortunate enough to be equated with the enemy.

Syria, where the governing regime orders its military to fire artillery at civilian homes, where helicopter gunships target breadlines of hungry citizens, and schools and hospitals are rocketed with devastating impact. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees characterized the Syrian conflict as the worst humanitarian crisis since Rwanda, and that was a year ago. Since then it has become increasingly dire, with no end in sight.

The Security Council, unable to fully sanction the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, because China doesn't believe in interfering in a sovereign country's business, even as it would not have interference in its own, (in 'splittest' Tibet, for example), and Russia, battling a Sunni Islamist insurgency in Chechnya and other majority-Muslim countries bordering its own threatening to spill into Russia, supports Syria.

Over two million Syrians made refugees, and almost half of the remainder of the country's population of 20-million requiring humanitarian relief. The bloodshed that makes a grotesque failure of a country that was seen as a central point in the Middle East now spilling over into Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, with jihadists from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and jihad-inspired Islamists travelling from their homes in Europe and North America.

The international community is appalled and urges that something be done to halt the bloody massacres of Syrians. Refugee camps teeming with Syrian men, women and children burden the ability of countries like Lebanon and Jordan to satisfy their most basic needs. The Middle East is dissolving into two blocs; Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Hezbollah/Lebanon as opposed to the Sunni nations of the geography. Civil war is limping malevolently into Iraq and Lebanon, oozing out of Syria.

And the United Nations holds emergency Security Council meetings. 2013 has been a year of mass unease and mass murder; terror stalks the lives of millions of people. And in 2013 Bashar al Assad was appointed a judge on UNESCO's human rights panel. And Khomeinist, nuclear-inspired Iran was named president of the UN Conference on Disarmament. While China took its seat with the UN Human Rights Council. and Robert Mugabe was awarded with Zimbabwe's global conference on tourism.

Global madness reigns supreme. Hello, 2014!