Dubai: After pledging to support his opponents and calling for his ousting, senior officials in western governments are admitting that Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has strengthened his position and is in control of the situation in his country. The shift in the western position reflects their content with the status quo in Syria. “The West seems to approve this inclination of developments in Syria – a inclination of self-destruction,” Riyad Kahwaji, Director of Dubai –based INEGMA center for security and strategy research told Gulf News. He was commenting on recent western statements on the situation in Syria. UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, was quoted as saying in an interview with BBC1 of the Syrian president: “I think he may be stronger than he was a few months ago, but I’d still describe the situation as a stalemate. And yes, you do have problems with part of the opposition that is extreme...that part we should have nothing to do with.” Also, David Shedd, the second man in the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) revealed in a speech during a security forum that the DIA had warned the US administration early in the Syrian revolution that Al Assad would be able to hold onto power for years. Regardless of Al Assad’s fate, the war in Syria is likely to continue for years, Shedd added. “None of the international or regional powers are willing to decisively end the Syrian crisis,” said Muataz Salameh, an researcher in Arab Affaris at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Strategic Studies Center. “And they don’t want to do so,” he added to Gulf News. Analysing western positions, Salameh noted that apart from the lack of substantial support for the Syrian opposition, the rebels suffer from myriad differences and a lack of strong stable leadership. “Today’s scenario in Syria is perfect for them (western powers) which is to make the Syrian land a zone for cold-war”, he added.