By William Tucker

It’s not really a surprise that the ceasefire was violated, that is, if one could claim it was ever implemented in the first place. The regime played the blame game, as expected here on IHS, that it was the opposition forces that broke the agreement forcing Assad to respond in kind. Coming to Assad’s aid in record time was Russia.

By William Tucker

International media is reporting that Vladimir Putin has won the Russian presidential election. Despite the numerous anti-Putin protests there wasn’t any doubt about the outcome of the race. The media had been covering the many protests in Russia, particularly in Moscow, from the perspective that these demonstrations would undermine Putin’s power base. Such a grandiose belief is pure nonsense.

By William Tucker

A few days ago a commenter on the IHS post UN General Assembly Calls for Assad to Step Down asked if supporting the Syrian opposition would be a wise move to counter Iranian influence. My response was that, “Some commentators have suggested that removing Assad would disrupt Iranian designs. I agree that it would; however nothing good would come of it.