How the Economist is reporting now

Two years ago, I read in the same magazine that Asad is on his way out (or down).  Look now: "As things stand, Mr Assad has little incentive to take the heralded Geneva conference seriously, or even attend it, while the rebels are in political and military disarray and the pressure on his regime has eased, albeit slightly. An increase in the flow of small arms to the rebels is unlikely to tilt the military balance in the short run."