Even with hopes running high, so much can go wrong when a country ousts a longtime dictator and tries to start anew

In fact, the scale of the challenge facing Syria is greater than that which confronted Libya in 2011. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown after less than a year of conflict that cost thousands of lives. But on his death, much of the country’s infrastructure remained intact. Libyan rebels had exported oil even before his overthrow.

History tells us that where a fragmented coalition of armed groups finds itself in a political vacuum, more violence is probably on the horizon.

Russia has begun withdrawing a large amount of military equipment and troops from Syria following the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, according to two US officials and a western official familiar with the intelligence.

The country is deeply divided along religious and ethnic lines, which makes continuing violence one likely scenario.

While the Russian military continues to withdraw equipment and troops from Syria, Israel has continued its air raids, intended to further degrade what is left of the former Syrian Armed Forces’ fighting capacity.

Ankara's growing military presence in Syria has led to a diplomatic clash between former allies Israel and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has supported Hamas, even hinting at some sort of armed intervention.

Israeli air strikes in Syria, the cutting of electricity and water lines—that complicated the reality on the ground. The fall of Assad was a fast-moving story, which caught news organizations off guard.

My first reaction to news earlier this month that the Syrian government had been overthrown was, how much did we have to do with it; how involved was the CIA;

Russian military bases in Syria appear to be being packed up and evacuated. If Russia relocates to Libya, experts worry the shift could impact security in the Mediterranean and unbalance the ...

The loss of its military power in Syria has led Russia to turn its sights on Libya. Could the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria see the strengthening of his Libyan counterpart, Khalifa Haftar? The reports began trickling in barely 24 hours after Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad was ousted.