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PaperclipPerfector  10d ago (text post)   2619 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 8, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Do you think Syria will get better or worse after Assad? I vote on worse. The track record is not encouraging. Don't see anything that tells me it will be different than the other Arab Spring countries.

Better for some, worse for others. I think the situation is too multi-dimensional at this point to come down unambiguously on one side or the other.

I vote on same or worse. Hope I'm wrong, but yeah this is hugely reminding me of the Arab Spring in Libya, which resulted in an even worse spiral of conflict after Gaddafi was killed and "we came, we saw, he died". Within a short time of his death there were open-air slave markets in Tripoli.

Middle Eastern power vacuums are always fun. I'll be pleasantly surprised if it goes well, but there seems to be no way out of this that doesn't involve a lot of warlording.

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