A year has passed since the fall of the Assad regime. The change has been immense and its consequences are still unfolding. With the first anniversary passing on Monday, key questions remain unresolved, the most prominent being: Why did Bashar Assad and his regime become subservient to Iran so early in his rule? In my view, had he not pursued such a dangerous policy, he might not have ended up exiled in Moscow. This conviction only grows stronger when reviewing his governance over more than two decades, not merely from the outbreak of protests in 2011.