-to-begin-pulling-out-syria.html
http://www.foreignpolicyi.org/content/fpi-bulletin-five-years-disaster-syria
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/vladimir-putin-rides-out-of-syria-as-a-victor/2016/03/15/9a1ca556-eac1-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html
withdrawal-from-syria
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/russias-withdrawal-is-another-facade
The surprise withdrawal — apparently taken without consulting with Assad — jolted the peace discussions underway in Geneva and unnerved Syria and its allies. Russia’s pullout will put significant pressure on Assad to work out a power-sharing agreement with the opposition, many analysts said, amid signs that the Syrian leader was being less accommodating to Putin than the Kremlin may have wished. – Washington Post
The Pentagon will “wait to see” whether Russian President Vladimir Putin was sincere in announcing a withdrawal of his forces from Syria, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. – The Hill
Just under half of Russia's fixed-wing strike force based in Syria has flown out of the country in the past two days, according to a Reuters calculation based upon state TV footage. - Reuters
Analysis: The Russian leader’s announcement on Monday that he would withdraw the bulk of his forces from Syria not only caught the White House by surprise, it seemed to belie Mr. Obama’s regular warnings that Russia would be severely damaged by its military adventurism. And it reinforced the sense that Mr. Putin has managed to maintain the initiative in Syria against an American president who wants to keep the war at arm’s length. – New York Times
Editorial: The United States and its allies will be left to carry on the fight against the Islamic State, which will be made considerably more difficult by the Assad regime’s survival. Thanks to Mr. Putin’s intervention, and the United States’ befuddled response to the Syrian crisis, it is not he but Mr. Obama who is left facing a quagmire. – Washington Post
Anna Borshchevskaya writes: Putin seems to be laying the groundwork for casting himself as a "great world leader" -- a peacemaker who successfully carried out a limited campaign with "minimum casualties," then withdrew in order to lead international peace efforts. In doing so, he will undoubtedly seek to pressure both the United States and the Syrian opposition to stick with the Geneva process and more important, to make concessions that would benefit Putin above all else. The Russian language has a concept that best describes this situation: "pokazukha," a facade or window dressing, something Putin knows all too well how to construct. – Washington Institute for Near East Policy
“The world is now scrambling to understand what Putin meant and what this means for Syria. There are a few different ways to read the situation, and they are not mutually exclusive. Putin may be telling the truth. The Russian intervention has achieved quite a lot. It has undercut the Syrian opposition, stabilized Assad’s government, and produced a peace process on more favorable terms for Assad than was previously possible. Perhaps Putin was always planning for an intervention of limited duration and kept Assad informed about this. With a truce in place, now is a good time to start scaling it down. Meanwhile, other forms of support to the Syrian government are likely to continue and, if the peace process collapses, Putin could easily reverse his decision. Remember, the Hmeymim and Tartus bases will remain operational, which leaves Russia with all the infrastructure it needs to resume airstrikes on short notice.”