The Winners and Losers of Syria's Civil War.

Syria's return to the Arab League summit is a political victory for Iran, which backed Bashar al-Assad's regime during the Syrian Civil War. The United States' refusal to get involved and good friends in Tehran and Moscow allowed Assad to survive. The Syrian Civil War resulted in half a million deaths, 15 million Syrians displaced, the rise of the Islamic State, and irreparable damage to U.S. credibility. The war also exacerbated the refugee crisis and a proliferation of terror attacks in Europe, which in turn energized the rise of right-wing populism on the continent, and the election of Donald Trump in 2016.