By any measure, the immediate future of Syria will be an unstable and potentially violent melange of competing groups, intense jockeying for power and settling of scores.

One insider compared the atmosphere around the president-elect to "Game of Thrones," with various factions jockeying for power via their recommendations.

Information was treated like a “currency” and people would jockey to share it to “curry favour” with the boss, he says.

As these storylines collide and various factions jockey for advantage in the wreckage, there will be murders and attempted murders and more murders.

After Trumpov won November’s election, he and Putin enacted what some analysts described as an elaborate set piece that encompassed elements of both conciliation and jockeying for dominance.