Once more on Rojava

Social imperialists, also on libcom, have basically said: "so what if YPG allies themselves with USA? They fight to survive".

Now USA support Turkish invasion of Syria and even its aggression against the Kurdish autonomy, thereby betraying PYD. It confims what us ultra-left malcontents have said- that the Kurdish nationalists' policy of relying on US imperialism's good will has been short-sighted and criminal. If Kurds want to end their national oppression, they have to unite with Sunni Arab masses in struggle for socialist federation of the Middle East.

The main enemy of the workers and oppressed of the world is the bloody US evil empire, and its and its proxies' defeat is a lesser evil even when it fights against the hideous Islamic reaction. USA will strangle the Kurds even more than the IS would. And if USA suppresses ISIS, soon another ISIS will come because American bombs make the Middle East a breeding ground for Islamic fundamentalists.

Trotsky concluded that the defeat of Italian imperialism against Ethiopia would be a lesser evil, even though the latter was an absolutist monarchy and one of the last bastions of chattel slavery.

If Mussolini triumphs, it means the reinforcement of fascism, the strengthening of imperialism, and the discouragement of the colonial peoples in Africa and elsewhere. The victory of the Negus, however, would mean a mighty blow not only at Italian imperialism but at imperialism as a whole, and would lend a powerful impulsion to the rebellious forces of the oppressed peoples. One must really be completely blind not to see this.

I agree that

I agree that Rojava-fetishizing leftists need to stop kidding themselves. But:

- Not "socialist federation" - we oppose federal structure (i.e. any form of social division that recognises national difference), only a unitary structure is acceptable
- US imperialism isn't the main enemy. Capital is. In its absence, US imperialism would quickly be supplanted by other competing imperialisms (Russian, Chinese, French, ...), in the same way that US imperialism supplanted British imperialism.
- And the Trotsky point doesn't make sense - Trotsky also supported opportunistic alliances with imperialism, e.g.

"Let us assume that rebellion breaks out tomorrow in the French colony of Algeria under the banner of national independence and that the Italian government, motivated by its own imperialist interests, prepares to send weapons to the rebels. What should the attitude of the Italian workers be in this case? I have purposely taken an example of rebellion against a democratic imperialism with intervention on the side of the rebels from a fascist imperialism. Should the Italian workers prevent the shipping of arms to the Algerians? Let any ultra-leftists dare answer this question in the affirmative. Every revolutionist, together with the Italian workers and the rebellious Algerians, would spurn such an answer with indignation. Even if a general maritime strike broke out in fascist Italy at the same time, even in this case the strikers should make an exception in favor of those ships carrying aid to the colonial slaves in revolt; otherwise they would be no more than wretched trade unionists – not proletarian revolutionists."

https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1938/05/think.htm