Syrians are justifiably rejoicing after decades of repression. Here are the three ways Syria can go
ABCThe end of Assad rule means many things, but particularly the long-overdue destruction of "the kingdom of silence", the paranoid security state that Hafez al-Assad built and his son Bashar intensified. What Syria's neighbours and major foreign powers do now Syria used to be called "the beating heart of the Arab world", but the weakness and desperation of the Assad regime led it become dependent on Iran, scared of Israel and subject to Turkish military incursion. How the chaos in Syria will change the Middle East Photo shows President Bashar al-Assad and President Vladimir Putin shaking hands inside a Kremlin meeting room. Israel, which played a key role in Assad's downfall by relentlessly bombing Iranian facilities, militias and commanders in Syria, has already moved further into Syrian territory from the occupied Golan Heights, saying it is taking "a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found".