• SuperApples@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I think the USA was already on a not-so-slow decent into fascism, and this assassination just gives another talking point to justify what they are doing, not change course. I can imagine people putting this at the back of their mind soon, just like they did with the assassination attempt on Trump. A civil war isn’t going to break out (there’s only one military in the USA, and no established apparatus for a coup (except for an auto-coup)), but there is a chance of war in a geopolitical conflict.

    The last time Qatar was attacked was by the Ottoman Empire. Your comment indeed highlights how many think about the Middle East as a homogeneous blob.

    There’s a difference in how people perceive Syria, Lebanon and Iran, and the Gulf states. An attack on a stable Gulf state is a big deal. SA and Qatar have been at odds historically, but you can see them being brought closer together by this event. If the Arab states are pushed much further, they may unite and fight back.

    Given the amount of dehumanization of Arabs by Israel, I can imagine them “feeling justified” to drop a nuke on Riyadh or Mecca as a retaliation. Hopefully cooler heads prevail, but they will keeping poking the bear (falcon?) so long as they have support from the US. Of all the nuclear powers, I believe Israel is the most likely to use them. Russians at least see Ukrainians as fellow Slavs, but there’s little Semetic solidarity.

    It’s true that what happens in the US has massive consequences for the rest of the world (including the Middle East, as stated above). But given the course of the federal government and the courts in the US already, I can’t see there being any fundamental change here; maybe some minor acceleration, but things are pretty far gone already.