Assad: We'll give up chemical weapons once U.S. stops arming rebels

[pampango]

60. Russia certainly intends to keep Assad in power. I am surprised this war was not over in short order

given Assad's monopoly on heavy weapons. The opposition to the dictator is more tenacious than I had expected.

I agree that the prospects are not good when a powerful country is determined to keep a dictator of a client state in power no matter how much carnage is involved. (Of course, if the tables were turned and the US were supporting a dictator to maintain a naval base, I would not be so sanguine.) I suppose someone should inform the Syrians that their fate is immutable.

Given your analysis I would say that the Syrian people never had any hope of a better life even back I nearly 2011 when this started. Assad does not want to leave and Russia is willing to back him however much it takes.

Putin is undoubtedly winning friends with many dictators and potential customers for his defense industry exports. The US was not much help for Mubarak when he ran into massive public protests. Gaddafi had protection from neither Russia nor the US and things did not end well for him. Assad, OTOH, with a lot of help from Putin, is still very much in power 2 1/2 years after syria's massive public protests and likely to stay there despite 100,000 deaths on Syria.

If I were a dictator, I know whom I would want in my corner.