The rehabilitation of Syria’s dictator raises awkward questions for the West

The Arab League’s annual summit is not a hot ticket. Yet Bashar al-Assad must be delighted with his invitation to join it in Saudi Arabia this month. Syria’s president has been ostracised by most of the world since 2011, when his repression of his people sparked one of the 21st century’s most savage civil wars. Now, as we report, he has won the conflict, and his neighbours—and some in the West—are weighing whether to re-establish ties. The dilemma over Syria is acute and found elsewhere, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Should governments continue to isolate pariah states long after it is clear that sanctions will not induce political change?Make no mistake, is a war criminal. Over 300,000 civilians have been killed since 2011, 1.4% of Syria’s pre-war population of 22m. He has relied on terror, barrel bombs, Wagner mercenaries and Iranian-backed militias to stay in power. Cities have been reduced to rubble. Some 6m citizens have been displaced inside Syria; a similar number have fled from the country. He sits atop a mafia economy. Before the war 50 Syrian pounds were worth one dollar; now the rate is around 8,700.