| Bashar al-Assad is probably the first head of state to have improved his international status by gassing his own people. |
| Aleppo has been a stronghold of the more legitimate opposition to Bashar al-Assad. |
| But Bashar did not last much longer and became another victim of Paul Collingwood's sharp fielding in the covers. |
| Soleimani has been advising President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria and helping in the fight against Sunni rebels there. |
| The Saudis hope the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad will deal a body blow to Iran and Hezbollah. |
| And President Bashar al-Assad, no doubt, sees that his coterie of regional despots is thinning out. |
