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Syria’s return to the international fold after years of isolation gathered momentum this week with Saudi King Abdullah’s landmark visit to Damascus. But the Syrian regime is far from being out of the woods just yet when it comes to shedding its pariah status. The country still faces multiple allegations of sponsoring terrorism, particularly in neighboring Iraq.

But this image of Syria as a country that is working around the clock to destabilize Iraq is rather unfair, especially in view of the sacrifices that the Syrians have made to accommodate scores of Iraqi refugees. Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Syria has taken in well over a...