The Syrian researcher Muhsen AlMustafa at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies told Al-Hurra that “from a logistical capability standpoint, it will certainly take many years. The state needs vast amounts of money to rebuild Syria’s military capacities from scratch, and it also needs countries willing to supply Syria with weapons and ensure the continuous and sustainable development of these arms.”

AlMustafa explained that “most of the weapons destroyed by Israel would not have withstood any upcoming war anyway, as most of them were scrap. Assad’s regime had not worked on developing the army for many years, even before the revolution in 2011.” He added that “in reality, rebuilding the army does not appear to be a clear priority for the new government. The priority today is to impose security, provide services, and re-establish control over all Syrian territory. However, a parallel path could be activated through preliminary steps to quietly rebuild the army. Currently, according to operations commander Ahmad al-Sharaa, the focus is on dismantling the security apparatuses. As for the old army, it has not been discussed in depth, and what has been mentioned is only in the form of hints about the military institution.”

He continued: “A few days ago, mandatory service members in the army were granted a general amnesty, along with cards ensuring they will not be stopped for the time being. Nothing has been said about the fate of the volunteers. Meanwhile, the new structure may be subject to lengthy discussions before being approved, especially since military factions are completely different from an organized army structure. A key question will later emerge: will the direction be toward building a professional army based on volunteers, or reactivating compulsory service in a different way than before?” He stressed that “priorities are different and challenges immense, especially since Assad’s regime almost completely destroyed Syria’s infrastructure, and Israel has completed the destruction of both the infrastructure and military capabilities.”