If?
Assad is winning and will come out of this conflict with a much stronger popular support than before. The radical opponents will be worm fodder, the squishy cowards have fled, the minorities have seen that they need him for their durvival, the average Syrian has seen up close the alternative and will never think again of going down that road.
Surely Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and the Kurds will have more to say... without Shia manpower, Russian arms and expertise and Kurds fighting against the jihadis on other fronts, Assad would not be where he is today.
The inevitable outcome will be a much diminished power of the Saudis, Qataris and Turks. Of course in their fits of anger they will try to create as much chaos in Syria as possible and save any shred of influence they still think they have.
It will be a bitter pill to swallow for the West and Israel... who have shortsightedly banked on toppling or destabilizing Assad. They will now have to come to terms with him.
But better with him than with a jihadi ‘caliph’.
When all your opponents are either dead or out of the country it'd be kind of hard not to have popular support
100% agree with you