A Syrian army checkpoint in the town of Jaib al-Dikir in the countryside of Raqqa province, Syria, Dec. 23, 2017. Picture by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images. All rights reserved. October 2017 was the moment of reaping the whirlwind as the de facto capital of the self proclaimed Caliphate in the Syrian territory fell to US backed Syrian Democratic Forces. The recapture of Raqqa has its symbolic significance. Raqqa was portrayed by ISIS as the revived version of the old Caliphates of the Umayyad (661-750 CE) and the Abbasid (750-1258 CE). Parallel to the western powers, Iran, Russia and Iraq played a significant role in the physical demise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
The news of the liberation of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, was greeted with great enthusiasm by Tehran, Moscow, Washington and Europe. Since then, many commentators and media outlet began to anticipate who is the main winner in Syria in the post-ISIS era.
However, before attempting to answer this question, it is crucial to discuss the objectives of the powers involved in the Syrian battlefield.
