Syria’s Fate Hinges on Whom It Hates Most, U.S. or Iran?

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- As Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assadclings mercilessly to power, hopes that his regime will bereplaced by a stable, tolerant democracy are being dwarfed byfears of prolonged sectarian strife and Islamist radicalism. Theoutcome will hinge in part on a simple question: Whom do Syria’sdiverse rebels hate more, the U.S. or Iran?

The anomaly of power in modern Syria -- where an Alawiteminority rules over a Sunni Arab majority -- was neversustainable, and few countries stand to lose more from theregime’s collapse than the Islamic Republic of Iran. Syria hasbeen Iran’s only consistent ally since the 1979 revolution,providing the leadership in Tehran with a crucial thoroughfareto Iran’s most important regional asset, the Lebanese Shiitemilitant group Hezbollah.