Neck of the woods

I was watching the “Syrian” flag being pushed and raised by the opposition in Syria. No, not the black al-Qaeda flag some of them are raising, but the black-white-green one. The same thing in Libya: the Qaddafi flag was replaced with the old flag. As soon as some Arabs rebel, they change their flag. WTF with that? This Syrian flag has been around before the Baath Party, before the al-Assad royal family started ruling. Since Syria was merged with Egypt for three and a half years. I read somewhere that the opposition flag dates from French colonial days. Not that it matters.
In some African countries, the rebels and military coup-makers change the name of the whole country. Congo became Zaire before returning to Congo. Dahomey became Benin, Upper Volta became Burkina Faso (Faso???).
Even in Asia: Burma became Myanmar and will no doubt become Burma again. Saigon (what a beautiful name) became Ho Chi Minh City, a very unmusical name no matter what you think of Uncle Ho as a person. For example, I suspect that Newt Gingrich and John Bolton were secret admirers, that explains why they evaded the Vietnam War.
Back to the Levant: Could Syria break up into Alawistan, Salafistan, and Kurdistan? Could Turkey break up into Alawistan (south), Kurdistan (southeast), and Ottomanstan (Anatolia)? Could Iraq break up into Shiastan, Sunnistan, and Kurdistan? Could Lebanon break up into…. wait a minute: it already is, always has been. Then there is Bahrain…………..

Cheers
mhg
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