Isabel Infantes/EMPICS Entertainment/Press Association. All rights reserved.In Syria at the moment, nothing is as simple as it initially seems. There are always complicating factors, overlooked actors and unforeseen consequences with which to contend. Especially when considering the propaganda output of the Assad regime, it is best to treat everything said with a great degree of caution. This is especially true when considering the sort of stories the regime may promote in order to capture the world's attention or otherwise appeal to western perspectives.
The recent case of Palmyra provides a particularly pertinent lesson in this particular modus operandi.
After the recapture of the city from the Islamic State by forces claiming allegiance to Assad, it was very quickly suggested that this represented a turning point of sorts, in two ways. First, it was argued, this meant that the regime, long viewed as sclerotic and suspected of haemorrhaging manpower, retained the capacity to retake territory; and second, as some in the west were suspiciously eager to point out in rather more idealistic terms, the regime could be seen as not only the potential scourge of ISIS but also the defender of civilisation to boot.
