IntelBrief: Assad Uses Earthquake to Advance Normalization

Bottom Line Up Front

• The regime of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has manipulated the urgent need for earthquake relief aid in an attempt to break out of his decade-long stretch of global isolation and pariah status.
• Damascus sought to burnish its image by allowing additional border crossings for U.N. humanitarian aid deliveries into northern Syria, though critics warn these reach largely government-controlled areas
• Assad achieved a breakthrough by visiting Oman in late February, while several Arab states sent high-level delegations to Damascus or renewed direct contact with Assad after the quake; several regional actors have called for Syria’s reinstitution in the Arab League.
• Though U.S. officials insist that engagement with Syria on earthquake relief should not promote the normalization of Assad’s regime, Washington is unlikely to punish allies that re-engage Syria economically.