In the aftermath of President Trump’s planned withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Syria, America’s Sunni-Arab allies have endorsed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s continued rule over his butchered nation.

It’s a tough about-face for Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. After all, Assad’s slaughter of his own population has targeted Syrian Sunnis with rampant brutality. Assad’s forces and their Iranian, Lebanese, and Russian allies have killed at least 300,000 Syrian civilians since 2011, the vast majority of these victims being Sunnis. But Assad is also a close ally of the Sunni kingdoms’ most dedicated adversary, Iran. These factors should make Assad a mortal enemy of the Sunni kingdoms.