Biz as usual: Analysts say strikes don't change dynamics of Syria conflict

The US, Britain and France struck military positions and research facilities linked to chemical weapons in Damascus and Homs overnight to retaliate against their suspected use in an April 7 attack

Hours after a punishing US-led missile strike, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, dressed in a dark suit and tie, strode through the gates of his palace to start his day as usual.

The televised image of Assad walking on gleaming marble floors toward his office, briefcase in hand, matched the rhetoric the Syrian government put out soon after the strike: the second US attack in a year in response to suspected chemical weapons use has failed to rattle the regime and the president is in control.

Analysts and diplomats said that the attack was unlikely to lead to an escalation in hostilities or