The Damascus File
The conventional wisdom on Syria is that the conflict is intractable. Thirteen years of war. Half a million dead. Thirteen million displaced. Multiple foreign powers with competing interests. Deep sectarian divisions. A government that has demonstrated willingness to use chemical weapons against its own people.
Every attempt at negotiation has failed. The Geneva process stalled. The Astana talks produced ceasefires that collapsed. The constitutional committee went nowhere. Regional powers — Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United States — all have vested interests that contradict each other.