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Jeremy Bowen considers the many different layers of war in Syria, which have seen Bashar al Assad remain in power. "The outside world wrote off Bashar al Assad from the beginning," he says. "The assumption was that he'd fall, like the dictators who'd been overthrown already in the Arabs' short spring before the onset of a long winter. But that ignored his genuine support."

Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life.

Producers: Cara Swift and Ben Crighton.