Syria’s position in its immediate regional context is seriously compromised. The rushed and injudicious siding of Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah with Ahmadinejad has wedded the fate of the Lebanese group with that of the discredited Iranian president. Hamas would now be more inclined to strike a deal with Fatah and join President Obama’s renewed peace process. And the Mahdi Army now has to fend for itself in more pronouncedly Iraqi (even nationalist) terms, making easier for the U.S. military to leave
