How the Assad Regime Fell

12/13/24 • 40 min

For well over a decade, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad managed to hold onto power during a complicated civil war involving a number of anti-regime rebel groups. And then, rebels launched a lightning offensive that saw a series of Syrian cities—including, ultimately, the capital Damascus—fall. Assad was gone and more than a half-century of rule by his family came to an end. To explore how that happened and what comes next, John Amble is joined on this episode by Natasha Hall, a senior fellow with the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies with deep expertise on Syria.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

Previous Episode

Inside the Battle of Azovstal

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, one of its first targets was the city of Mariupol. Despite being outnumbered by—and less well equipped than—their adversaries, Ukrainian defenders held out for three months. As the Russian siege of the city intensified, Ukrainian forces defended a shrinking perimeter with a command post in the Azovstal steel plant. One of those Ukrainian defenders was Sergeant Arseniy Fedosiuk. MWI's John Spencer had the opportunity to speak to him about his experience in Mariupol, and you'll hear part of that discussion in this episode.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

Next Episode

Why Security Force Assistance Only Sometimes Works

After twenty years of America’s post-9/11 wars and the US military’s struggle to build capable and effective security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is an important discussion taking place about what role security force assistance should play for the United States in the very different strategic environment that is taking shape. Will it be a mission that we'll be required to do in order to compete with Russia and China? Or will it become tangential to our preparations for large-scale combat operations? And given the challenges we faced over the past two decades, what needs to happen to achieve better outcomes in the future? Will Reno, a professor of political science at Northwestern University, and Franky Matisek, a military professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College, have researched the topic deeply, including conducting hundreds of interviews in the field. They join this episode to discuss their findings.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.