The writer discusses in his article about the reasons of why ( the Assad regime has proved stubbornly resilient). He then draws a comparison between the regime and its opponents: ( While the rebels have succeeded in liberating territories in Syria's northern provinces, they are still not in control of one major Syrian city. He then empathizes again on the thesis statement of his article: ( Unlike in other Arab countries, where autocrats were brought down by citizens uprising, the Assad regime shows no signs of fading into oblivion soon.)
I may say that the writer in his comparison between the situation in Syrian and other Arab Spring countries deviates from the truth. It's true that the peoples of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt respectively have successfully ousted the regimes were suffocating the people, however, the liberation would not have been realized without a third element had interfered.
Bin Ali in Tunisia fled the country when the military authorities did not race to save him. Moreover, the army abstained from rescuing Bin Ali
In Egypt, the same thing went as in Tunisia, the Army stepped in and tried to straddle the fence at the beginning, but it did not work. The military officers realized that Mubarak's regime had finished and was already from the past
The Libyan revolution was a bit different from those revolutions preceded it. Al Gaddafi did not lower his head to the rebels and fought them. I did not think that the revolution would have the upper hand without the interference of the NATO in the fight. I still remember when the People of Bangazi yelled for help as the Gaddafi's troops were defeating the rebels.
In Syria, the rebels are depending on themselves and on the little arms and money smuggled from the Gulf states. They are alone. And even when they asked of help, the international powers have imposed condition on them: to expel the Jihadists from Syria and provide assurances that the new regime will keep the boarders with Israel quiet.
There is valid no comparison