The Battle of Aleppo is over what impact will this victory have for Assad?

[Mike67]

The Battle of Aleppo is over according to the Voice of America with Syria and Russia driving out the terroristic ISIS(I don't think there are any "moderate" rebels in Syria) supporting rebels. What impact do y'all think this will have for Bashar Assad and the Syrian Government? I think Bashar Assad is strengthened and there is no way he will be removed from power now.

[NeverAgain]

It's good news for those civilians left destitute by this war in their hometown. Bad news that there is still a tyannical dictator leading their people.

I think this is the end for the rebels, sad to say. When you have a world top super power dead set against you along with your own government it's hard to accomplish much.

I look forward to being proved wrong, though.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The Islamo-fascist rebels will be dealt with appropriately, and life will resume normally in a few years after Assad wipes up the last remnants of ISIS. And it will all be done without any help at all from America. That's a win win to me.

[Mike67]

The Islamo-fascist rebels will be dealt with appropriately, and life will resume normally in a few years after Assad wipes up the last remnants of ISIS. And it will all be done without any help at all from America. That's a win win to me.

Yeah that's always good

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

The Islamo-fascist rebels will be dealt with appropriately, and life will resume normally in a few years after Assad wipes up the last remnants of ISIS. And it will all be done without any help at all from America. That's a win win to me.

Except for the civilians Assad massacred the other day, sure.

[136or142]

The Islamo-fascist rebels will be dealt with appropriately, and life will resume normally in a few years after Assad wipes up the last remnants of ISIS. And it will all be done without any help at all from America. That's a win win to me.

Except for the civilians Assad massacred the other day, sure.

Assad is a terrible person but a lot of this moral superiority I see from people doesn't' impress me either (Paris turning out the lights on the Eiffel Tower for one thing).  The reality is that in almost any war there are reprisals against people who were assumed to have been assisting the other side and based on the numbers reported to have been killed by the Syrian military, there doesn't seem to be random killings of civilians.  I don't doubt that some of those who were targeted for reprisals did not do what the claims against them were.

Of course, none of that explains why the Aleppo refugees are reportedly fleeing to the remaining rebel strongholds.  Clearly they must fear Assad based on things that I'm not aware of.

[Cory]

The Islamo-fascist rebels will be dealt with appropriately, and life will resume normally in a few years after Assad wipes up the last remnants of ISIS. And it will all be done without any help at all from America. That's a win win to me.

It's not remotely that simple, but whatever.

*Coming from someone who sees the Assad regime as the lesser of two evils*

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The Islamo-fascist rebels will be dealt with appropriately, and life will resume normally in a few years after Assad wipes up the last remnants of ISIS. And it will all be done without any help at all from America. That's a win win to me.

It's not remotely that simple, but whatever.

*Coming from someone who sees the Assad regime as the lesser of two evils*

Well of course. Nothing is simple. If it were that simple, Assad would have mopped up this mess years ago.

That being said, my ultimate aim is the destruction of the current world order dominated by soft, center-left teary eyed utilitarian internationalists. The wounds of the Syrian Civil War are going to leave a festering scar that won't go away in my lifetime. I'm convinced that the United States has absolutely no business being involved in the Middle East what so ever at this point. If we intervene to save Aleppo, we drive yet another generation of young Middle Eastern Muslims into the arms of ISIS and whatever Islamist organization replaces them in a few generations time. If we don't, then those persecuted by Assad will blame America for the failure of their ill advised revolution and embrace anti-American thought anyway.

Assad isn't the lesser of two evils. He's the lesser of three evils. That's an important point.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Assad the Butcher gets strengthened,

[MT Treasurer]

These "rebels" are mostly terrorists.

[Frodo]

His regime obviously survives for another day, but more importantly it strengthens Russia and Iran's position in the Middle East at the expense of the Sunni regimes led by Saudi Arabia.  As well as leaving Russia more exposed than ever to terrorist whiplash of which they just got a taste.  

As far as I'm concerned, if Russia wants the Middle East, they can have it.  We don't even have much need or use for its oil fields anymore.  It's long past-time we switch our focus to East Asia instead.  

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

His regime obviously survives for another day, but more importantly it strengthens Russia and Iran's position in the Middle East at the expense of the Sunni regimes led by Saudi Arabia.  As well as leaving Russia more exposed than ever to terrorist whiplash of which they just got a taste. 

From what I've heard (this could have been corrected since), the assassin this morning wasn't even an Islamist. He was a supporter of the coup. The fact that he was promptly riddled with bullets even though he stood over the body with his gun to the side for several moments after the shooting leads me to suspect that this was an act of terrorism by the Central Intelligence Agency, not the Islamic State.

As far as I'm concerned, if Russia wants the Middle East, they can have it.  We don't even have much need or use for its oil fields anymore.  It's long past-time we switch our focus to East Asia instead.  

Amen.

[Beet]

The Syrian government supporters have made an entirely understandable Hobbesian bargain, but not because they originally liked Assad, only because he is preferable to an ISIS takeover. Assad is a huge war criminal and always will be a huge war criminal. Winning 100 battles with Russian backing will not change that.

[Frodo]

His regime obviously survives for another day, but more importantly it strengthens Russia and Iran's position in the Middle East at the expense of the Sunni regimes led by Saudi Arabia.  As well as leaving Russia more exposed than ever to terrorist whiplash of which they just got a taste.

From what I've heard (this could have been corrected since), the assassin this morning wasn't even an Islamist. He was a supporter of the coup. The fact that he was promptly riddled with bullets even though he stood over the body with his gun to the side for several moments after the shooting leads me to suspect that this was an act of terrorism by the Central Intelligence Agency, not the Islamic State.

Got anything to back that up?  Not even Fox is making the claims you have.  

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

His regime obviously survives for another day, but more importantly it strengthens Russia and Iran's position in the Middle East at the expense of the Sunni regimes led by Saudi Arabia.  As well as leaving Russia more exposed than ever to terrorist whiplash of which they just got a taste.

From what I've heard (this could have been corrected since), the assassin this morning wasn't even an Islamist. He was a supporter of the coup. The fact that he was promptly riddled with bullets even though he stood over the body with his gun to the side for several moments after the shooting leads me to suspect that this was an act of terrorism by the Central Intelligence Agency, not the Islamic State.

Got anything to back that up?  Not even Fox is making the claims you have.  

1. The literal video.
2. Do you expect a foreign intelligence agency to admit to culpability the day after an act? I haven't seen any proof that Putin had anything to do with the Wikileaks stuff but that doesn't mean it should be ruled out.

I was only wrong about the assasins alleged Islamist ties, which are more apparent but hardly definitive.

[ingemann]

His regime obviously survives for another day, but more importantly it strengthens Russia and Iran's position in the Middle East at the expense of the Sunni regimes led by Saudi Arabia.  As well as leaving Russia more exposed than ever to terrorist whiplash of which they just got a taste.

From what I've heard (this could have been corrected since), the assassin this morning wasn't even an Islamist. He was a supporter of the coup. The fact that he was promptly riddled with bullets even though he stood over the body with his gun to the side for several moments after the shooting leads me to suspect that this was an act of terrorism by the Central Intelligence Agency, not the Islamic State.

Got anything to back that up?  Not even Fox is making the claims you have.  

1. The literal video.
2. Do you expect a foreign intelligence agency to admit to culpability the day after an act? I haven't seen any proof that Putin had anything to do with the Wikileaks stuff but that doesn't mean it should be ruled out.

I was only wrong about the assasins alleged Islamist ties, which are more apparent but hardly definitive.

The killer said Allahu Akbar, he also used the ISIS hand salute.

Last and not least, the group which are blamed for the coup attempts was the Gülen Movement (pretty much a Scientology-like Islamist cult, which for some weird reason the American establishment are in love with).

Also just because the killers uncle was connected with the Gülen movement, it doesn't follow that he's part of the movement.

[ingemann]

Also the effect of the fall of Aleppo are that it free up thousands of soldiers which can used on other fronts, while it also mean that hundred of thousands of IDPs to return home to Aleppo.

[DC Al Fine]

So what exactly are the distinctives of "Gulenism"?

[ingemann]

So what exactly are the distinctives of "Gulenism"?

Theological it's rather tame, in many ways that I called it Islamist part was rather unfair, because while it's Islamic religious and political movement, it's much more adapted to the modern world and build on Turkish rather than a Peninsula Arabic Islamic tradition and mix it with mild nationalism.

What makes it are cult are it's structures, how it treats its founder and in the manner it influence politics. Imagine if the Mormons tried to infiltrate the judicial and executive branch of government, and had a top down structure where those judges, soldiers and cops was expected to obey the movement over the government. Ironic Erdogan helped with this infiltration as it was a way to weaken the old establishment.