A WIN discussion, January 2025. Follow it HERE. Less than a month ago, Syria’s bloodthirsty dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country for Moscow. He and his father Hafez al-Assad had ruled it for over half a century, but Bashar was in such a hurry he didn’t leave a word of explanation, written or spoken. Assad’s brutal regime had survived thirteen years of civil war, but within days its army had suddenly collapsed, its soldiers and officers simply melting away. In its place the offices of state in Damascus were seized by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia, formerly the local affiliate of al-Qaeda, trained by the Turks and Ukrainian forces. HTS has boasted of its excellent relations with Israel, whose army has occupied the southern gateway to the capital without facing any resistance. How could this happen to a country previously seen as a key member of the so-called Axis of Resistance? What next for Syria? Will it fragment into a series of warring statelets? What will Assad’s downfall mean for the region? Does it represent a strategic victory for the USA and Israel? Or could it herald a new Arab spring? Matthew Jones opened up this vital discussion.