ABSTRACT
Transcendence can emerge from the tragic elements in human action, as MacKinnon (1974: 122–35) argued. Many Middle East crises strangely mimic ancient patterns of conflict albeit in a quite alien guise. In almost a parody of biblical format, the Assyrian (the territory of Iraq), in conflict with one group of Arabs, targets Israel — and vice versa — with Western imperial responses that attract the potential destabilisation of the world. This composite for tragedy should not be cashed as a cheap literal Armageddon. Even where the threats to basic human rights are grave, military action may perpetrate or attract a theatrical absurdity which inadvertently mocks at the moral sanity required to resolve international crisis.
