At the End of the Day, Bashar al-Assad (original) (raw)

The war in Syria is over, and Bashar al-Assad has weathered the tumult. However, the regime is weakened, stripped of power and resources, and hard-pressed to impose its authority in the state. Moreover, Russia and Iran continue to maintain their presence and influence in the country. Yet notwithstanding the regime's weakness, there is no evident alternative. All the respective domestic, regional, and international actors understand this, and are ready to renew the dialogue with the regime, recognize it, and thereby grant it legitimacy. Syria will not readily recover its prewar status, but Bashar has survived the war and is laboring to regain control in the country. In that case, sooner or later, Israel, like the other regional actors, will have to factor him in when formulating policy and planning activity in the Syrian space.