There are no quick answers to any of these questions, and none presents itself as urgently as, for example, what to do about refugees. But lacking immediacy can be misread as lacking overall importance. So long as none of these questions is resolved, Syria will remain in turmoil, and debating where Assad happens to plant his feet on any given day will remain an exercise in sowing hope rather than policy.

John Richard Cookson is an assistant managing editor at the National Interest.

Image: Wikimedia/Thierry Ehrmann