Plans by Russia to pullout forces from Syria delivered a strong message to Bashar Assad, who recently took a major hardline position. Moscow announced an end of its military intervention in Syria as a success story from its own point of view, not Assad's. This, and other important factors, have accelerated peace efforts in Geneva, posing Assad as the "persona non grata", even for Russia. Not In It For The Long Run Undeniable is the fact that Russia, along with Iran's proxies, helped relieve Assad of definite overthrow at the hands of Syrian opposition forces closing in fast. Russian...