@camelguy @Antaréss @Syrian Lion (only Syrian user that I recall on PDF)
and the few other Arab users around (Syria is an internal Arab conflict with outsiders obviously involved but it remains an internal matter at its core and thus needs Syrian and Arab solutions to be truly solved - thus I am only interested in the opinions of fellow Arabs)
Most of us, as discussed many years ago, all agree that the Al-Assad regime is incompetent, brutal and as long as they will stay in power the underlining problems will remain the same and it will only be a question of time before another armed uprising emerges in case of no serious reforms taking place.
On the other hand there has not been a serious Syrian opposition for years with a genuinely achievable and realistic political project for Syria.
So at this point, almost 1 decade into the conflict, the best thing for Syria's long-term future (regardless of who "wins", I have been 100% sure of Al-Assad surviving years ago as soon as every Arab states pulled out and de facto recognized Al-Assad) is to keep Syria's territorial integrity intact. Whatever party wins in Syria, they should take all of Syria and end this conflict once and for all.
If Al-Assad is serious, he should be looking to make amends with all Arab countries as this will be his only solution to rebuild Syria as well as the return of the millions of Syrians now living in Arab countries.
However given the nature of the Al-Assad regime, the millions of Syrians who escaped will face a very hard time.
What a mess but this conflict is the perfect example of how much you can mess up your own nation and people (short-term and long-term future) just to keep your throne intact. Had the idiot (Bashar) done what Mubarak, Saleh, Ben Ali etc. did, Syria would not be the mess it is today.