The most important story in the world today is the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. You’d never know it by watching Sunday morning US TV news shows, where 99% of the reporting is on Trump, this and Trump that, along with an update on the hunt for the guy who murdered the insurance executive.
The Bibi government in Israel Seems to be pretty happy with the fall of Assad. I’m not sure that I would celebrate anytime soon. The largest part of the rebel force, HTS ( formally known as the Al Nusra front ) was once a part of Al-Qaeda. That is a pretty bad history.
The big losers this weekend are Russia and Iran, both of whom supported the Assad government.
Russia has a Navy base in Tartus, Syria, which they should lose now. If they do lose that base, they won’t have any naval facilities in the Mediterranean. And the Russian ships now in the Med will not be allowed to go into the Black Sea, as Turkey will not permit them to transit the Bosphorous. Those ships will be without a port, unless they travel all the way up to Saint Petersburg.
Iran has projected power in The past years by Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah, and Assad. Now, Israel has broken the back of Hamas and Hezbollah, And Assad is bye bye.
Iranian and Russian power looks to be much weaker in the region that it was even six months ago. That is probably good news, but let’s see what Syria looks like a couple of months from now
