When Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she remarked that it was only a matter of time before the dictator would have to pack up his personal belongings and leave the country.
Reality, however, has a funny way of inserting itself into the picture. Unknown to U.S. policymakers at the time was the length to which Assad’s external supporters, Russia and Iran, would go to ensure its client in Damascus survived. Heavy Russian bombing, in addition to Iranian ground troops and the deployment of Tehran-sponsored Shiite militia units, have penned in what is left of the anti-Assad opposition to a patch of territory in the northwest. Assad, who many believed would be killed or driven into exile, has won the vicious civil war in his country.
We lost Operation Syrian Freedom a long time ago.
See also:
–Egypt Steps Up Efforts To ‘Restore Syria’s Position In The Arab World’
–U.S. Says It Won’t Normalize Or Upgrade Diplomatic Ties With Syria’s Assad