Forget 'evil' Putin - we are the bloodthirsty warmongers

[NuclearDem]

104. Oh good God, the whataboutisms. This almost isn't even worth replying to.

jailing dissidents - just about every country, including the US, jails dissidents. Two come to mind, here: Chelsea Manning, John Kiriakou. Pot/kettle.

Do I need to get out my "Free Chelsea Manning" shirt?

I don't represent the US government; there's absolutely zero hypocrisy in my condemning Russia for jailing its dissidents, because I've been wholeheartedly supportive of keeping our whistleblowers and dissidents out of prison.

Whataboutism count: 1.

Assassinating the above - really? is Putin assassinating these people by his own hand? Who?

To name two right off the top of my head, Alexander Litivenko and Anna Politovskaya, one a defector to the UK who was highly critical of the Russian government, the other a journalist who covered corruption and Chechnya.

I highly doubt they're the only ones.

Leveling his own cities - see Sabrina's post, upthread.

Not happening. What Putin did to Grozny was nothing short of a war crime, and if I have to see one more fucking poster here defending that, I'm going to blow my lid again.

Seizing parts of neighboring countries - would you be referring to Crimea? That train has left the station. Russian troops were already there. And Russia wasn't going to give up its only warm water port. Duh!

Russian troops were there and relegated to their bases. That was their agreement with Ukraine. The second they left those bases and annexed Ukrainian territory, that was an invasion and illegal land grab. Glad to know you think it's just fine to commit an act of aggression against another country as long as it's for strategic/resource reasons. Guess that makes Iraq alright in your book.

Pogrom against the LGBT community? Definition of Pogrom: massacre. slaughter, butchery, genocide. Isn't your allegation a little over the top?

He's damn well in the process of starting one. Too many parallels with the lead up to the Holocaust for my taste.

Make no mistake.. I am wholly committed to gay rights. I am also vehemently opposed to the discrimination that gays endure in Russia. I also recall when "don't ask, don't tell" was the law in the US, and when Pres. Obama was, as he stated, "evolving" on some gay rights issues. He got a pass on that. I seem to detect some hyprocrisy in terms of the present situation I Russia.

Wow, that's one of the biggest loads of horseshit I have ever read on DU, and that's saying something.

First of all, if you're making excuses for one of the worst enemies of the LGBT community abroad, then you're not committed to LGBT rights.

Second, you go right back to assuming I was in favor of DADT or made excuses for Obama's position. I fucking didn't, and I'd appreciate you not attributing beliefs to me that I don't hold.

Third, another goddamn motherfucking whataboutism. That the US had anti-gay policies on the book is utterly fucking irrelevant with regards to Russia. Both are wrong.

Goddamnit, that was horrible.