No one, no analyst, no authority in the region, neither in Europe nor in the United States, had predicted such a rapid fall of the Syrian regime. Nor that a former Al-Qaeda leader would take power and meet with Donald Trump months later. But back to Assad. According to the Lebanese daily L’Orient Le Jour, the leader remained in denial of his fall until the last moment. He only left Damascus under pressure from Russia and left for Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast and a stronghold of the regime. He planned to stay in the city to “fight,” but the Russians put him on a plane to Moscow again. Today he lives in a luxury residence in the Russian capital with his family. Avoid public appearances or interviews.
Almost all members of the regime managed to escape. Boithaina Shaaban, his right-hand woman with whom I spoke several times in Damascus in the past, left for Oman via Beirut. The regime did nothing to stop it. Other members of the old regime have spread to the United Arab Emirates, Russia and even Lebanon.
I’m curious to know what’s going on in Assad’s head. He could have pursued a career as an ophthalmologist in London, living with his wife Asma, who previously worked in the financial market. He chose to return to Damascus and go down in history as one of the most bloodthirsty dictators of the 21st century. He will now spend the rest of his life in Moscow.
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