Middle Eastern Square Dance: Swing Your Partner

(Refrain)

Bow to your partner, swing her around.

Lift her gently off the ground.

Allemande left and do-si-do.

Trade your partner, and away we go!

 

The Middle East quagmire--I have to say--

Grows more complicated every day.

Maybe we ought to reassess

What has become a giant mess!

After having destabilized Iraq,

We pulled out despite some squawk.

When in Syria all hell broke loose,

The rebels were out to cook Assad's goose.

The rebels that we supported with glee

Were not who they purported to be.

So ISIS, or ISIL, grew in size

And terror in the region was on the rise.

 

(Refrain)

 

Iranian Shiites are fighting against ISIS,

Which makes us nervous and adds to the crisis.

For although Iranian help is needed,

In Yemen the Iranians also proceeded

To assist rebels there, much to the displeasure

Of the U.S., the Saudis, and Israelis who don't treasure

The rising power and influence of Iran

And are very suspicious of the country's game plan.

So, in the meantime ISIS is destroying

Ancient relics and seems to be enjoying

Ridding the "Caliphate" of symbols of "evil,"

With beheadings and slaughter causing more upheaval.

(Refrain)

The U.S. is bombing ISIS, and we’ve seen

That it’s not very pretty for those caught in between.

Who has been supportive or who has been against

Has not been so clear since all this strife commenced.

Both the Saudis and Jordanians themselves

Have been bombing targets. It seems whoever delves

Into the Middle Eastern politics will find

It requires a certain frame of mind

To make any sense of who is fighting whom

And provide explanations for all the doom and gloom.

How can we make this problem disappear?

There’s not an easy solution, I fear.

 

(Refrain)

 

Turkey, too, has jumped into the fray,

Complicating matters with the role that it will play.

The Turks hate ISIS, but they also hate the Kurds

And call them terrorists with unkind words.

Therefore, we are once again caught

In a dilemma--another Gordian knot.

We support the Kurds, who fight the ISIS thugs.

I hope that we don't expect any hugs

From the Kurds who are being bombed by the Turks.

Who knows what craziness is still in the works?

Talk about quagmires: whoever might begin one,

It seems as though we always end up in one.

 

So swing your partner; listen to the fiddle.

Circle left; now come down the middle.

Keep all the dancers in the line of sight.

Now trade your partner and circle to the right.

 

(8-1-15)