Now Syrian President Bashar Assad is poised to be readmitted to the fold of Arab nations, a feat once deemed unthinkable as he forcefully crushed the uprising against his family’s rule. Assad rules over a country in ruins, with close to half a million people killed and half the population displaced. In the Arab world, Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria never broke ranks with Syria. Propped up by Russia, China and Iran, Assad never really felt the pinch politically. “I don’t imagine Assad’s Syria becoming a fine upstanding member of the international community, but nor do I think it will languish in isolation,” Itani said.

Source: Egypt Independent January 13, 2019 10:18 UTC