SYRIA: Sympathy For The Devil May 20, 2021: The Assad government is bankrupt because of lost Iranian subsidies and the need to concentrate on paying its security forces rather than rebuilding infrastructure to restore electricity and improve the roads damaged and neglected since 2011. As the Assads seek to regain control over more territory, improving standards of living has low priority. The Assads currently rule sixty percent of pre-war territory and an even higher percentage of the population. Unfortunately for Syrians, the Assads are skilled at running a police state, not an economically strong one. While many Syrians welcomed the return of peace over the last few years, the economic conditions have steadily deteriorated. The government makes an effort to prevent starvation, especially in Damascus, the capital and long a peaceful and prosperous island in a desert of warfare and scarcity. While most of Syria is no longer a warzone, that has turned out to be a liability as well. For example, more European countries agree that parts of Syria are no longer a warzone and have stopped granting asylum to Syrians based on people living in a warzone.