President Joe Biden delivered a short address from the White House on Sunday, claiming credit for the toppling of the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who was ousted by rebels after a long and brutal reign lasting decades.

Biden claimed that a combination of U.S. policies — isolating Assad; tying Russia down in Ukraine; and allowing Israel freedom of action against Iran and its Hezbollah proxy — weakened the regime and left it without defenders.

Biden said:

Over the past four years, my administration pursued a clear, principled policy towards Syria. First, we made clear from the start that sanctions on Assad would remain in place unless he engaged seriously in a political process to end the civil war, as outlined in the U.N. security council resolution that passed in 2015. But Assad refused. So we carried out a comprehensive sanctions program against him and all those responsible for atrocities against the Syrian people. Second, we maintained our military presence in Syria, our counter ISIS, to counter the support of local partners as well on the ground, their partners, never ceding an inch of territory, taking out leaders of ISIS, ensuring that ISIS can never establish a safe haven there again...