TTR Syria February 2016

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• The Syrian military is a heavy mechanized force, primarily designed to defend against a similarly composed external foe. The heavily armored force is not optimized for the type of combat experienced in Syria’s civil war.
• The Syrian military is greatly diminished due to desertions and combat losses and had to broaden its defense capabilities to include a number of hybrid threat actors while significantly adapting its tactics and techniques in order to maintain its ability to protect the regime of President Bashar al Assad.
• The Syrian military relies on outside actors to help defend its government, namely Hezbollah and the governments of Iran and Russia for arms, strategy, and personnel.
• The reported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian military against its citizens represents the Assad government’s willingness to ignore law of warfare principles in order to achieve its objectives, regardless of global opinion.