Alwaght- Over the course of past three years, full liberation of the Syrian city of Aleppo has been a top-priority aim of the forces of the Axis of Resistance. To this end, the Syrian government’s forces along with their allies examined different plans for retaking the northern city from the terrorists. They finally used the tactic of "small-scale but persistent military push" to take the city back.
The significance of liberation of Aleppo can be understood from the insistence of the military experts and analysts who suggest that cutting hands of the terrorists from Aleppo can symbolize liberation of the whole Syria.
Aleppo recapture is pointed to as a key to liberation of all terrorist-held regions, and after this milestone win no anti-Damascus country around the world can any longer press for removal of President Bashar al-Assad from power. Aleppo liberation has severely impaired morale of the terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government, and it will speed up further operations to of retake remaining areas under the militant group's control.
However, maintaining Aleppo will have its own security, military, and economic costs. Protecting a liberated Aleppo is seen as vital and decisive for the government in Damascus.
Generally, Aleppo recapture's outcomes can be categorized in three main levels as follows:
In domestic level, taking Aleppo back represents a big victory for the Syrian people and works as a push against the terrorists in other areas of the country. An image of a free Aleppo motivates the public to back liberation of other cities like Idlib, Daraa, Deir ez-Zor, and Quneitra by the government, and consequently, the terrorist groups will not be any more able to recruit new forces. The terrorists from now on are less likely to secure a major win, something that frustrates their backers and leads to reduced supports for them.
In a regional level, Aleppo liberation has pushed the neighboring Turkey in a difficult situation, because Syrian army has proved that it is able to liberate other Syrian areas under the Turkish occupation. Erdogan during the Syrian crisis raised questions about the credibility of the border agreements with Syria reached after the First World War like Treaty of Lausanne in a bid to support his historical claims about Turkey’s possession of Aleppo. However now that Aleppo is freed, Ankara is stripped of its expansionist power, and President Erdogan of Turkey will find himself having to overhaul his earlier schemes and instead seek a role in shaping the future Syrian government.
On the other side, Aleppo recapture will discredit the regional policies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. In fact, these three Arab countries spent much on fall of the Syrian government but failed to make any gain. The most important thing about these three conspiring countries is their spiritual loss which just unlike the political or military loss produces deep and lasting effects. Now when Aleppo is liberated, a lot of questions come down: why did an Arab country which has always promoted Arab nationalism assault another Arab country? Why did Riyadh in league with other non-Muslim countries breach sovereignty of a Muslim country like Syria? This is not only a spiritual defeat of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE but of the Arab League, (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council, and the likes. Damaging the Saudi Arabian prestige and position in the Muslim world, this loss will trouble Riyadh’s measures and aggressions in other parts of the region. The influences of the loss of the three Arab countries will be long-lasting and decisive and will affect Saudi regime's war on Yemen, another Muslim country. Additionally, the Saudi interventions in Iraq will face stronger resistance by the Iraqis, and Riyadh’s costs in West Asia will see a rise.
In an international level, while the US-led West witnesses its current position challenged by defeat in Aleppo, Russia which shares this military win with Syria has seized the opportunity to boost its image and prestige in the world. This is predictable from recent remarks by the Russian President Vladimir Putin who told Donald Trump, the incoming US president, that the unipolar global system has touched its end and the world is seeing resurfacing of multipolar system, a hint that Moscow restores its Soviet-era place globally. In fact, it must be said that Russia will have a better position regionally and internationally after Aleppo triumph.
Finally, victory in Aleppo triggers a power boost of the Axis of Resistance, topped by Iran which during the Syria war years despite inequalities in political and military fields did not slip out of the resistance course nor did it leave Syria alone. Certainly, public opinion in the region and world will not fail to regard such a performance by the Resistance camp.
