Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community continues to see President Bashar Assad as winning the war against Sunni rebels in Syria.

The Defense Intelligence Agency said the Assad regime has overcome a manpower shortage to block the rebel advance throughout Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. In an assessment, DIA expected the Syrian military and its Iranian allies to target rebel control of Aleppo, the nation’s business capital.

“In Syria, we assess the conflict is trending in the Assad regime’s favor,” DIA said. “The regime holds the military advantage in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and we anticipate that in 2015 the regime’s strategy will be to encircle Aleppo, cut opposition supply lines, and besiege the opposition.”

The DIA assessment, submitted to Congress in February 2015, differed from those by leading think tanks, including the U.S.-financed Institute for the Study of War. The institute envisioned a collapse of the Syrian Army amid a severe manpower shortage and declining morale.

But the Pentagon agency said Assad would continue to receive strategic support from Iran and Russia. The assessment pointed to a massive presence of the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah.

“Damascus’ key allies in its fight against the opposition — Hizbullah and Iran — continue to provide training, advice, and extensive logistic support to the Syrian government and its supporters,” DIA said.

Still, DIA did not envision a rebel collapse in 2015. The assessment did not elaborate.

“Despite the Syrian regime’s military advantage — particularly in firepower and air superiority — it will continue to struggle and be unable to decisively defeat the opposition in 2015,” DIA said.

  DIA sees Assad winning war thanks to strategic backing from Iran, Russia, WorldTribune.com