Has Bashar al-Assad Already Won?

QUAGMIRE

At the G-20, Trump, Putin—and Macron—seem willing to give the butcher Bashar al-Assad a pass as they focus on ISIS. But they’re not the only players in Syria’s deadly game.

Published Jul. 7 2017 1:00AM EDT

170707-gutman-assad-hero_jicu2k — REUTERS/Ammar Abdallah

GAZIANTEP, Turkey—When Donald Trump sits down with Vladimir Putin in Hamburg Friday, he’ll be taking an unusual posture for a big-time dealmaker—that of the suppliant, begging Russia to solve the Mideast’s biggest problem.

The Syria war, now in its seventh year, has generated dangerous tensions in the region and beyond.

Roy Gutman

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Has Bashar al-Assad Already Won?

At the G-20, Trump, Putin—and Macron—seem willing to give the butcher Bashar al-Assad a pass as they focus on ISIS. But they’re not the only players in Syria’s deadly game.

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Roy Gutman