Years of corruption and a heavy reliance on foreign allies demoralized troops and hollowed out deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad's once-feared army, which failed to fight when Islamist rebels came calling. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/12/13/world/politics/assad-army-fail-fight/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #syria #basharassad #iran #iraq #hezbollah #russia