https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-trump-announces-us-troops-to-withdraw-from-syria-soon/
Yay, getting out of that shithole. Russia is there so they can pick up the mess. YPG gonna get creamed by Turkey and Assad/Russia (though Russia backs YPG also I think).
Meanwhile the YPG helped us fight and beat Isis. And now they are being abandoned only to be slaughtered by the Turkish government. At least France is stepping in.
I found this definition about them:
"The YPG is a democratic socialist organization in which Officers are elected by troops and equality regardless of gender, religion and ethnicity is guaranteed."
That sounds like something Trump would hate since he's basically a Nazi and supports dictators like Erdoğan and Putin.
Putin isn't a "dictator" you idiot.
shareAuthoritarian Democrat. He's a mixed bag though.
https://www.quora.com/Is-Vladimir-Putin-a-dictator-or-not
The fist paragraph of your link:
"Is Vladimir Putin a dictator or not?
He is, of course. Not that it invalidates everything he says, thinks, and does. A dictator can still be somewhat respectable, and Putin is quite respectable in many ways, but he is, yes, a dictator."
You didn't read the rest...
Russia is by no means a Western - style liberal democracy. There is rampant corruption and opposition is harassed and discredited. However, calling it a “dictatorship” would be a bit of a stretch as it lacks most featured of a dictatorship:
•a leader who holds and/or abuses an extraordinary amount of personal power, especially the power to make laws without effective restraint by a legislative assembly.
•suspension of elections and civil liberties.
•rule by decree
•repression of political opponents without abiding by the rule of law
•one party state
•cult of personality
Putin only fits two of these criteria. The Western media demonises him to turn public opinion against him and increase support for a potential confrontation with Russia.
I read the entire article a few times. It basically says he is a dictator, but there are others who are/were worst.
"Though a dictator, he’s not the Idi Amin type, neither the Hitler type, neither the Pinochet type etc."
Putin fits more than two of your qualifications. He had political opponents arrested so they couldn't run against him. He has created multiple fake "opposition" political parties which he controls to pretend there is political freedom. He controls the news.
A good source is the Democracy Index that studies all countries each year. Russia is listed as an authoritarian state aka: dictatorship. In 2017, they are focusing on media freedom.
The U.S.: fully free; score:10
Russia: unfree, score 139
"In Russia, the courts have imprisoned critics of the government’s policy in Ukraine for promoting “extremism...The climate for free expression in Russia has become increasingly inhospitable...restrictions on Russian outlets and attempts to foster “patriotic” reporting raise questions about the government’s commitment to media autonomy."
In the Democracy Index, Russia is listed #135. U.S. #21 and is a flawed democracy. Norway is #1 strongest democracy in world. North Korea most authoritarian #167
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
PDF download
http://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy_Index_2017.pdf
[deleted]
I can't blame Israel for doing what they do. They're 'literally' surrounded by arabs from all sides that want to wipe them out or see them fail, lol...
I can't say much about the refugees though. Ever since they flooded in, the uptick in terrorism in Germany rose significantly.
As long as he follows through. Saudi Arabia wants Assad out of there so we'll see if it holds true. Like I said in my own post about the issue, I won't be holding my breath.
What we need is a more legitimate Kurdistan. They were the primary instruments used against ISIS (and also Saddam's regime), but Turkey doesn't like the Kurds (which is why Flynn took $500,000 from Turkey to help ISIS).
I'd be fine with giving the whole country to the Kurds, make them our ally and tell Turkey to fuck off, but that requires war with Assad and it just isn't worth it.
[deleted]