Syria's uneasy bedfellows: perpetuation of conflict serves radicals, prospect for compromise increases moderation

The siege of Aleppo and the mounting losses of opposition districts throws a central dilemma for the Syrian rebels into sharp relief: if they hope to hold out against the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian backers, they cannot forego the support of extremist Jihadi groups. Yet it is the prominent role of these same extremists that provides the justification for the Russian intervention and t…