gazzzwp
Member
I don't think any of this is surprising to be honest. The opponents of Assad and all that he stands for have watched his forces go on the ascendancy with Russian and Iranian support. In the meantime you have Turkish presence still very much in the area; having proclaimed their divorce from the US and apparently favouring ties to Russia (allowing Russia to use their air fields etc) one wonders if they are not playing some sort of game with both superpowers as it befits their purposes. Who really knows what Turkey's end game really is?
Then we have the Saudis; still rumoured to be providing materiel and money. The US watching everyone closely to see where there next entry into the arena will be, still very much aggrieved by Assad's survival and the growing presence in the region of their adversaries Russia and Iran.
The resistance now sees the Russian airfields as targets and it will be interesting to see how effective their defences are what will be their response if these attacks continue. I doubt that Russia bargained for this to be quite honest.
Then there is Israel still prodding away in the background with the occasional air strike, testing the air defences in the region to ensure that they still maintain effective striking opportunities.
The war is clearly far from over. The pawns on the chessboard are clearly now ISIS and the remaining resistance whereas previously they were the major forces to be defeated. Much will now be done militarily and politically in the name of wiping out the remaining resistance but in reality it will only be to win a longer term better strategic position for the stronger world powers.
