What's Bashar al-Assad's Endgame in Syria?

The Syrian President, Bashar Assad belongs to a small sect known as the Alawits. The Alawits are supported by the Shiites of Iran. This relationship has been the norm since Iran's Revolution cementing their common link of Shia Islam. This is not a relationship based on religious reasons but rather is a alliance formed for political reasons. This alliance is a strategic alliance aimed at weakening western influence in the region against Sunni (ISIS) and strengthening Shiite (Hezbollah).

Assad's actions of attacking the peaceful demonstrators in 2011, served a purpose to draw U.S. support into the region for the protestors, which in turn led to a flood of ISIS fighters entering Syria polarizing the moderate groups.

"Assad’s endgame, it seems, is to clear the field of any relatively moderate groups around which Syrians and the international community might coalesce, and then build a coalition to defeat ISIS head-on. He will inherit a desert wasteland, but it’s still an inheritance."