Would-be democrats, freedom fighters, jihadists, Sunni extremists, and Al Qaeda elements – all supported by Sunni Arab countries and groups, now man one side of the battle lines. Against them are arrayed President Bashar al-Assad and his cronies, Shia militant groups fighting to protect their lifelines to Iran, religious minorities concerned about life after Assad, and, most ominously, Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah.