The latest round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva is wrapping up. No breakthroughs are reported. The Trump administration is not broadcasting its position. The Saudi-created High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has been obstructionist. For instance, when the Syrian government announced that it had retaken Palmyra from antiquities-demolishing ISIS, the HNC's lead negotiator, Nasr al-Hariri, dismissed it as a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon.
Peace will have to wait the outcome of the battle for Raqqa. All the contradictions of the U.S. position -- tacitly backing the jihadis through the CIA while augmenting the fighting forces of the YPG through the Pentagon -- will then have to be confronted.
For the time being it looks like Trump's plan is to secure GCC allegiance to a peace deal with Assad by committing to conquer Yemen for al-Saud.
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