Is Syrian President Assad Here To Stay?

Mr. Assad, center, greeting worshipers at a mosque in Qarat, Syria, this month. He increasingly seems likely to rule for years to come, albeit over a greatly reduced country. Credit Syrian Arab News Agency

New York Times: Syrian War Drags On, but Assad's Future Looks as Secure as Ever

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Although Syria’s bloody six-year war is far from over, one result is already becoming clear: President Bashar al-Assad looks as though he is here to stay.

On the battlefield, no one remains who is willing and able to topple him. The rebel forces are waning, and President Trump has canceled the C.I.A. program that provided them with arms and support. The Islamic State, with its own agenda to rule Syria as a caliphate, is being routed from its strongholds.

Regional powers, foreign officials and Syrians themselves are increasingly operating as if he will rule for years to come, albeit over a greatly reduced country. His allies have begun to trumpet what they see as their impending victory, and his government is talking about rebuilding a shattered country, hosting an international trade fair last month and signing a deal with Iran to rebuild its power grid.

Even some longtime rebel supporters have grown war-weary and started to embrace the inevitable.

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Update: The Syrian war is far from over. But the endgame is already playing out (Liz Sly, Washington Post).

WNU Editor: The war will grind on .... even if every region in the country is taken over by the Syrian army. Too many people have been killed, wounded, or displaced. The sense of revenge and retribution will be a part of the Syrian culture for years .... if not decades. But for now .... the war continues.