Even a ‘Diplomat’s Diplomat’ Can’t Solve Syria’s Civil War

The United Nations’ Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is stepping down.

Is there any role left for the international community to play in ending Syria’s slaughter?

• David Kenner
• The Atlantic

BEIRUT—If the only thing you knew about Syria was UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura’s briefing to the Security Council this month, you might assume dramatic events were afoot.

There had been an important meeting in Istanbul, he said, while equally vital summits in Astana, Kazakhstan, and of the G-20 countries in Buenos Aires, were in the offing.

The work under way was “absolutely urgent,” he told the…

• Even a ‘Diplomat’s…