Once more, negotiators are assembling to try to end the Syrian bloodshed. Yet as they gather in Vienna for multilateral talks Saturday, the political obstacles they face are enormous: Who will represent the armed groups, and which groups will be excluded? Who should decide the fate of President Bashar Assad, and when? Can Syria's territorial integrity be maintained, or must the country end up a series of fiefdoms? Can the Iranians and Saudis be made to cooperate? These and similar imponderables are likely to consume the negotiators for a long time. Meanwhile, the slaughter continues, with an estimated quarter of a million dead, 4 million refugees (many headed to Europe), an additional 6...
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