The Syrian Quagmire

Occasionally it's worth taking a fresh look at the mess in MENA, especially Syria. Check out a New York Times article, syndicated to The Morning Standard, about the civil war in Syria and the factors making it insoluble. Here are author Max Fisher's key issues, each explained in the article.

1. A conflict immune to exhaustion
2. No one can lose, no one can win
3. War’s structure encourages atrocities
4. Fear of defeat entrenches a terrible status quo
5. Syrian parties are built to fight, not to win
6. The dangers of victory
7. An obstacle to peace: no peacekeepers
8. A drift into disaster

Can it get worse? It almost certainly can. Murphy's Law suggests it probably will.