Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are jockeying for influence with Syria’s Islamist government, hoping to gain an advantage on rivals in the strategically positioned country despite misgivings about the jihadist past of its new leaders.

       The kingdom, along with Jordan and Qatar, is rushing humanitarian aid and energy assistance to Syria’s war-weary population. The Arab states are betting that doing so could advance both narrow and strategic goals—from cutting the flow of drugs and radical fighters across Syria’s borders, to countering the influence of competitors such as Turkey and Iran.

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