By James M. Dorsey

A week into a rebel offensive, Syria is the potential fulcrum of a tectonic reordering of Middle Eastern geopolitics with President Bashar al-Assad as a key player.

That is if Mr. Al-Assad is willing to play ball this time around.

Please read further, listen to the podcast, or watch the video at https://jamesmdorsey.substack.com/p/its-make-or-break-for-syrias-bashar

By James M. Dorsey

is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.