Near record numbers of attendees heard a very informative and somewhat downbeat assessment of the Syrian civil war, the prospects for the Assad regime and the rebel coalition, and the potential for a major Sunni-Shia conflict. Dr. John Jandali provided a comprehensive overview of the humanitarian crisis (more than 93,000 dead!), the country’s demographics, and assessed the current state of the conflict. Dr./COL Dick Hobbs focused on the historic divisions that have led to the Sunni-Shia split and the implications that has for the future of the Islamic split. Dr. Ty Cobb touched on Russia’s unhelpful (but far from hurtful) role and career FSO Richard Mueller looked at China’s role and the broader issues affecting global powers.
The participants, including many experts in the audience, felt that the massive influx of Iranian revolutionary guards and Lebanese Hezbollah troops, combined with tepid Western assistance for the rebels, has tilted the balance strongly in favor of the Assad regime. Still, none of the panelists and no one in the audience felt that Western military intervention was advisable or likely to result in a favorable outcome of the conflict.
We thought you might wish to review the slides used by John, Dick and Ty in their presentations.
Click here to view: NSF Syria June 19_final
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