Middle East

The country’s massive assault on Syrian sovereignty at a time of crisis is framed as an act of self-defense

So far, the state hasn’t been destroyed

It is too early to speak of Putin’s strategic defeat

Xi has given Assad strong diplomatic and political support, while offering to help him rebuild his war-torn country

Iran’s strategy now appears increasingly unsustainable

Assad, for all his many flaws, was also seen in Washington as a counterbalance to the jihadists that would take over the country

Abu Muhammad al-Julani decoupled his movement from al-Qaeda and rebranded it in more moderate colors in 2016

As rebels enter Damascus, Assad has fled

The lazy assumptions of many abroad that the war was over, that it had reached equilibrium, that it was even stable, have been shown to be false

People in Afghanistan and many in exile are clutching at a limpid hope that the president will come to the rescue