After a despotic reign of over five decades, marked by 13 years of bloody civil war that killed over half a million people and displaced millions more, the al-Assad dynasty’s rule over Syria has come to a sudden, shocking end. In just under two weeks, rebel groups mounted an offensive that captured a string of major cities, culminating in the fall of Damascus with barely a shot being fired and Bashar al-Assad fleeing into exile in Moscow. It’s difficult to understate what a complete sea change these events are for Syria and the Middle East. Today, Phillip Smyth returns to help us make sense of how this all unfolded so quickly, so unexpectedly, and what it means for Iran and its proxies like Lebanese Hezbollah, who propped up the Assad regime and counted on Syria as a hub to exert their influence throughout the region. Read Phillip’s work for West Point’s Combatting Terrorism Center: https://ctc.westpoint.edu/authors/phillip-smyth/ Read Phillip’s past work for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy: https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/phillip-smyth Follow Phillip on Twitter/X: https://x.com/PhillipSmyth Relevant articles and reporting "The Backstory Behind the Fall of Aleppo" by Hassan Hassan and Michael Weiss | New Lines Magazine "Jihadi ‘Counterterrorism:’ Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Versus the Islamic State" by Aaron Y. Zelin | CTC Sentinel Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Backgrounder | Center for Strategic & International Studies "Syrian rebels reveal year-long plot that brought down Assad regime" by William Christou | The Guardian Support Secrets and Spies Become a “Friend of the Podcast” on Patreon for £3/$4: www.patreon.com/SecretsAndSpies Buy merchandise from our shop: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60934996 Subscribe to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDVB23lrHr3KFeXq4VU36dg For more information about the podcast, check out our website: https://secretsandspiespodcast.com Connect with us on social media Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/secretsandspies.bsky.social Instagram: https://instagram.com/secretsandspies Facebook: https://facebook.com/secretsandspies Spoutible: https://spoutible.com/SecretsAndSpies Follow Chris and Matt on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fultonmatt.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/chriscarrfilm.bsky.social Secrets and Spies is produced by Films & Podcasts LTD. Music by Andrew R. Bird