The post-Assad transition is legitimate; foreign forces should leave

This position holds that Syria's transition after Assad is legitimate, and that foreign forces should withdraw and let Syrians govern themselves. Its advocates describe the transitional government as inclusive and reforming, support sanctions relief, reconstruction and international recognition, and stress Syrian sovereignty and unity.

Outlets associated with Turkey carry the strand on rebuilding the Syrian state, which it describes as sovereignty restored and the SDF defeated, and Western and allied outlets carry the view that engagement with Damascus is pragmatic and stabilising. It appears in the debate over Syria's post-Assad transition, over international recognition and normalisation, and over counter-ISIS operations, where it holds that foreign forces should leave Syria.

The competing position holds that Syria's new government are jihadists in disguise and that normalising relations with them legitimises extremists. Recent events show the transition gaining ground: the US removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, Visa and Mastercard launched services, the SDF dissolved and courts sentenced Assad to death in absentia. They also show strain, with an Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase that drew condemnation, including from a US envoy, and a bombing near Damascus.