Assad's Arab Allies Highlight Split with U.S. on Syria

Middle Eastern leaders welcomed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a regional summit, marking a major triumph for the once-shunned leader as he seeks to shut the door on a decade of bloody civil war. Syria’s return to the Arab League after an 11-year suspension highlights the stark gap between the United States and some of its closest Middle Eastern partners on an issue that once united them. The Biden administration, like European allies, has vowed to maintain its policy of isolation and pressure against Assad, whose campaign to crush dissent has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of people and displacement of half his country’s population.