How did Putin throw Assad under the bus? Oh yeah, he virtually assured Assad victory in the civil war; all but guaranteed no US intervention; broke the will of Assad's opposition by isolating them; guaranteed they (the Russians) will maintain key ally in the region; got Assad off the hook after he crossed the red line using chemical weapons. All Assad has to do is sign an agreement not to use chemical weapons and enter a tap dance with UN and US inspectors searching for an inventory of easily replaceable weapons. Assad should be hanged for the atrocity he committed. Instead he's getting off with a slap on the wrist.
Assad used having chemical weapons as a buffer against extremists and Israel. Assad and Putin each had said there were no chemical weapons. Now they have to deliver about 1000 tons of them or look like they are hiding them.
If you listened to Obama, Cameron and Hollande, each is talking about a transition from Assad.
There are many other articles like this one:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/afe18446-1e14-11e3-85e0-00144feab7de.html#axzz2f0j2lxQE
"But the episode also highlighted weaknesses that could damage the Assad regime’s value to its allies and its longer term prospects for survival. Without chemical weapons, Syria is less of a threat to Israel and thus less of an asset to its military ally and financial patron, Iran – although Tehran has publicly welcomed the agreement.
If he ends up signing this deal and giving up his weapons he will have lost his role as an asset,” said Sami Nader, professor of political science at Lebanon’s Saint Joseph University. “If the deal is respected he will be less important on the geopolitical map.”
Mr Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, built up Syria to be a relatively significant regional player to be feared and respected, playing regional and global powers against each other while maintaining a modicum of independence.
Already dependent economically and militarily on Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbollah, Mr Assad also finds himself ever more beholden to Russia, a patron with a long record of sacrificing vassals for its own ends.
The swiftness by which Mr Assad agreed to give up weapons he and his father accumulated over 40 years will also be seen by many in the region as a sign of weakness.
“For years and years the regime in Damascus prided itself on being a steadfast rejectionist state – standing up to American and Israeli designs,” said Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at American University of Beirut. “The fact that he gave up so quickly and agreed to join the chemical weapons treaty and give up his strategic chemical weapons just because the US sent a few ships to the eastern Mediterranean and threatened to strike him tells us something about his capabilities.”
In Israel, which keeps close watch on Syria’s chemical weapons capability, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautiously welcomed the US-Russian “understandings” on Syria, but said they must lead to the destruction of Mr Assad’s arsenal.
“The understandings between the United States and Russia will be tested with results on the ground – the complete destruction of all the chemical weapons stockpiles used by the Syrian regime against its citizens,” Mr Netanyahu said at a public ceremony Sunday in comments published by local media.
Earlier on Sunday Yuval Steinitz, intelligence minister, told Army Radio that the deal’s advantage was “that it’s a very thorough agreement”. The disadvantage, he said, lay in the agreement’s extended timeframe, which would allow “many things to happen”.
He added: “We know Assad.”
Though some worry the deal gives Mr Assad a green light to intensify his onslaught against Syria’s rebels and as long as he
uses only conventional weapons, the Syrian opposition’s patrons also are stepping up their efforts to arm the rebels.
Despite the efforts of the Syrian regime’s military and its backing by Hizbollah fighters, the conflict remains mostly at a stalemate, with reports that rebels have even made some recent advances. Syrian opposition leaders on Sunday demanded that any international agreement include limits on the Assad regime’s use of air power.
“The Americans are interested in maintaining an equilibrium,” said Mr Khashan. “If the Assad regime uses the agreement to escalate attacks, the Americans and their allies will step up their munitions supplies to the rebels.”
__________________