Syria & the Fall of Bashar al-Assad - Why Assad's military folded and what's next

Sponsored by: Private Internet Access: https://www.piavpn.com/Perun The al-Assad family ruled Syria for more than 50 years. The Syrian civil war has continued for 13. And yet, when the Assad Government ended, it did so in less than two weeks, with the army largely folding in the face of a surprise opposition offensive and Assad himself fleeing to Moscow. The future of Syria is now highly uncertain and beyond the ability of a one hour video to fully explore. But there are still question worth exploring now as the situation continues to play out. Why did Assad's military crumble, and what are the potential strategic implications for one of his most significant backers? Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU Reading and Sourcing (delayed to 17/12 due to late release): UN ODC - Trafficking Dynamics Across Iraq and the Middle East: Trends and Responses https://www.unodc.org/romena/uploads/documents/2024/UN_Iraq_ExSum_240318.pdf TASS on Syria https://tass.com/politics/1881911 https://tass.com/world/1884149 https://tass.com/world/1884149 https://tass.com/politics/1887197 https://tass.com/world/1884231 Gregory waters, the slow collapse of the Syrian Army https://syriarevisited.substack.com/p/the-slow-collapse-of-the-syrian-army Russian materiel resupply figures to Syria per https://carnegie-mec.org/2020/03/26/efficiency-of-syrian-armed-forces-analysis-of-russian-assistance-pub-81150 (with assistance from @Rebel44CZ) Visually confirmed SAA losses per @elmustek https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZFlGHmLF042wS5ihSwPKOHeeEK6fRy4cwoE_Z8DvSY0/edit?gid=1607894823#gid=1607894823 Reporting on the fall of Hama https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-06/rebels-take-syrian-city-of-hama-major-blow-to-assad/104691976 Mapping credit to original producers/owners, including @ThomasVLinge https://www.euronews.com/2024/12/08/in-pictures-celebrations-in-damascus-as-assad-regime-falls Caveats & Comments: All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions. Any content relating to the conduct or political views and/or activities of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Opening Words 00:01:34 — What Am I Talking About 00:03:29 — Background 00:07:02 — The Forces & Operation 00:11:07 — National Decline 00:19:10 — Force Decay 00:32:22 — Waning Foreign Support 00:38:25 — The Opposition Takes Advantage 00:42:53 — All Wars Are Drone Wars 00:51:31 — The Current Phase 00:53:19 — The Impacts - Russia 01:03:05 — The Unknowns To Come 01:04:14 — Channel Update