There seems to be a somewhat positive correlation between authoritarian regimes and violent states. Some would point to the US as an exception to that rule. But here we should note how the US determines many of its foreign policies. They are forged in secret and secrecy is the guardian of authoritarianism.
Many of the main players in the Syria Civil War are authoritarian. Whether we mention ISIS, President Assad, Vladimir Putin, President Trump, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, all of them tend strongly toward silencing others to get their way.
We should note that the Syrian Civil War started with the Arab Spring movement. President Assad responded to Arab Spring with violence with the intention of silencing the movement. In addition, Assad's regime is to Russia what the regimes of Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to the US: they are significant recipients of military aid. And the most immediate beneficiaries of American military aid are American weapons manufacturers. The more we give in military aid, the more profits these manufacturers enjoy. As a result, part of our economy depends on how many weapons we give to the rest of the world. Is it wrong to assume that such a deal is significantly similar to what occurs in Russia? All we need to do is to follow the money.
And how is Netanyahu involved? Netanyahu seems to be employing his version of the Bush Doctrine in the Middle East. That is that Israel will not let any rival become competitive in terms of development and military power. For if a nation in that region becomes a military rival with Israel, it would threaten Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. And speaking of the Palestinians, we should note that Israel's implementation of the Bush Doctrine for the Middle East rules out any possibility of Israel allowing a Palestinian state that is in any way close to being equal with Israel. And thus, the Palestinians must be kept in a beggars must be choosers role.
We know that Russia's Putin is very authoritarian from those who have seen his work like Anna Politkovskaya and Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as from those who have experienced is his use of power like those who have assassinated by Russia, those in Chechnya, and Putin's political rivals.
And of course there is President Trump. His authoritarianism is on full display on social media. Always insulting those who provide content-filled criticisms of his behavior and policies. Only the collateral damage of his venting through military action in Syria could include the Russians to an extent that they might eventually respond in kind. And think about how authoritarian Trump is acting in Syria. It wasn't Trump who took his complaints about military attacks to the UN, that was Putin. Not that Putin is innocent here; after all, he backs Assad. But instead of deliberating the gas attacks at the UN, Trump assumed that right to militarily retaliate for those attack. Such a response shows that Trump sees no need for the US to prove its accusations against others.
Though we Americans have no power over or bear no responsibility for how the other authoritarians are acting, we do have responsibility for and can try to gain power over our nation's pet authoritarian: President Trump. For if we don't, we risk a great deal and not just for ourselves, but for the whole world. For the more Trump flexes American muscle in Syria, the more he risks Russian retaliation. And once that retaliation starts, who knows how and when it will end? And considering that we will, in the near future, eventually be risking military confrontation with China as its military grows to the size of its desires and ambition, knowing how to get one's way as much as possible without even risking military confrontation is now a world survival skill.
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