Syria's 23-month-old conflict, which has killed more than 70,000 people and destroyed many of the country's cities, has repeatedly confounded international efforts to bring the parties together to end the bloodshed.
During a boxing match, say between Frazier and Ali, did anyone exert "efforts to bring the parties together?" How about during the American War of Independence or War Between the States? WW2?
This will be over -- at least in the sense that conflict is over in the Middle East -- when there is a winner and a loser.
In the Middle East, any quiet is merely the calm before the next outbreak of "arab spring fever."
I guess the official beginning of Camel Humping Season has been postponed!