As Aleppo falls, diplomats foresee Iran and ISIS rise

[TomSea]

By Margaret Brennan CBS News December 8, 2016, 6:26 PM
As Aleppo falls, diplomats foresee Iran and ISIS rise   

Aleppo’s fall will not end the brutal Syrian war, but now diplomats are haggling over “which direction it falls,” according to a Western diplomat. That is, will it be a bloodbath? Or can Secretary of State John Kerry negotiate a pathway out for the civilians trapped alongside the besieged U.S.-backed rebels in the eastern portion of the city? And could there be a way to call the surrender of that city something other than “defeat” for the rebels?

“We are witnessing talks that are trying to manage Syrian and Russian victory,” a European diplomat said on the condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of the ongoing diplomacy.

Kerry spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Wednesday and again Thursday about one potential arrangement. Technical advisers are set to meet this weekend in Geneva on the matter, while Kerry convenes with a number of high-ranking diplomats in Paris this weekend.

Expectations are low, but the cost of failure is quite high.

Continued: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-aleppo-falls-diplomats-foresee-iran-and-isis-rise/