The Russian invasion of Ukraine should finally end the
administration's fantasy that Moscow will help stop the war in
Syria.  And it ought to force the White House to forge a new
strategy to deal with the most shocking humanitarian crisis of
the century, which is spilling over from Syria to all of its
neighbors. Otherwise, the level of human suffering will get
much, much worse.  U.S. officials have insisted for three years
that there was no military solution in Syria; they clung to
delusions that Russia would convince Bashar al-Assad to make way
for a transitional government and free elections. But those
hopes reached a dead end at failed Geneva peace talks, where the
Russians refused to pressure the Syrian regime.  Just as
Vladimir Putin used military force in Ukraine to try to restore
an ally to power, the Russian leader has armed and encouraged
Assad to retain power at any human cost.  Assad's key weapon is
his willingness to commit the most brutal war crimes. That means
besieging whole towns, starving res