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The Fall of al-Assad and the Major Implications for the World

Russia and Iran may never be the same

John Polonis
The Political Prism

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Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin; Wikimedia Commons

The murderous regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has finally ended. Rebel groups stormed Damascus, Syria’s capital, early Sunday morning, with evidence mounting that al-Assad had fled. It marks the end of a brutal civil war that al-Assad waged on his own people, including with chemical weapons.

The end of the al-Assad regime leaves a huge power vacuum at the center of global conflicts. Syria is strategically located with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest.

Syria
Wikimedia Commons

Russia, for example, has multiple military bases in Syria. Their Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia province and naval facility at Tartous on the coast are both at grave risk of falling into rebel hands, according to a prominent Russian war blogger. The Tartous facility is Russia’s only Mediterranean repair hub, which could have huge implications for Russia’s ability to project power across the Middle East and Europe if they lose it.

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