If only we could say the same about Syria. But President Bashar al Assad continues to hold doggedly to his post, while his opponents from the Sunni majority cling just as desperately to the hope of victory. A Sunni victory becomes more probable as the fighting grinds on, but it is unlikely to mean an end to the bloodshed, given the spread of jihadi ideology among the revolutionaries and the growing bent for retaliation against Assad's ruling Alawite minority. The prospects for democracy under such conditions are grim at best. And that, perhaps, is the saddest conclusion to be drawn from the experience of 2012.
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