Behind the lines: Is Syria on the way to becoming a ‘frozen conflict’? – Neither a grand ‘4+1’ (Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria plus Hezbollah) war against ‘terror’ nor a regime pullout from Damascus to an Alawi enclave in the western coastal area appears to be in the Cards | The Jerusalem Post

Behind the lines: Is Syria on the way to becoming a ‘frozen conflict’? – Neither a grand ‘4+1’ (Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria plus Hezbollah) war against ‘terror’ nor a regime pullout from Damascus to an Alawi enclave in the western coastal area appears to be in the Cards | The Jerusalem Post

The latest moves on the regime side in the Syrian war suggest an effort by its allies, including Russia, to “freeze” the conflict rather than to continue it to victory. This is because victory in the form originally conceived of – the reconquest of the entirety of the country by the Assads – is clearly no longer achievable.