Chaos rarely takes a holiday in the Middle East, and one of the biggest eruptions of the past year has been the downfall of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. It was fully understandable for the world to celebrate the Syrian uprising last December, given the massacres the Assad regime had endorsed against its own people for more than half a century.
However, are the Islamist groups that ousted him allies of democracy or the West? Are Syria’s new rulers acquiescing in the massacres of the Alawite, Christian and Druze minorities? Can the US prevent the spread of mayhem into Israel or Iraq that might lead to the revival of a jihadist state or enclave in Syria? To what extent have the Iranian-backed Shia proxies been deal a blow? What are the risks and opportunities for a better Syria and a more stable Middle East?
