You're reading: The Atlantic: Putin won’t stop the slaughter of Idlib

Bashar al-Assad has never been coy about his plans. Through much of Syria’s civil war, its president has proclaimed that opposition is equivalent to terrorism, and must be wiped out. His regime is simply following the policy that grew out of its supporters’ favorite slogan: “Assad, or we burn the country.” This is why no amount of pablum from the Russia-sponsored process to craft a political resolution to the conflict—and humiliate Western powers by superseding their own peace process—can stop the terrible endgame that awaits in Idlib.

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