Christopher R. Hill suggests how the world should end the two wars in Syria. The one fought between the Assad regime and the opposition "can be resolved only through a diplomatic solution" if both sides see no prospect of fighting to the bitter end. Peace talks have been held in Vienna "involving a wide range of world powers and regional actors," but without the opposition groups.

The other war on the Islamic State "will require a very different approach." Instead of "talking to" and "compromising with" ISIS, Hill says the international community has to "galvanize an alliance of countries dedicated to the group’s complete eradication." It explains François Hollande's flurry of visits across the world after the terror attacks on Paris to seek a vast anti-ISIS coalition. Indeed, it is senseless to opt for any "political, diplomatic, or territorial arrangement with such a group."

" Yet how true is it that "the Islamic State’s war is, in a sense, also a civil war?" In fact ISIS has exploited the civil war in Syria to encroach on territories lost by the regime to the opposition. It seized Raqqa and set up its capital there in 2014, after having driven the Syrian rebels out.

In the face of what the Islamic State embraces and the threat it poses to the world, Hill insists "all relevant countries must agree" that ISIS has "no legitimate role to play anywhere," quoting George W. Bush's statement: "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." But he oversees the fact that not everybody is keen on eradicating ISIS. Erdogan prefers to fight the Kurds; Assad needs ISIS to justify his war against the Syrian rebels, who are also seen as terrorists by Russia. The Sunni Arabs' main objective is to overthrow Assad and they turn a blind eye to the Islamic State. Instead of fighting ISIS, Saudi Arabia had directed the Sunni resources to targeting the Houti rebels in Yemen, causing massive collateral damage.

Hill says "Israel cannot be blamed for all of the region’s problems." But does he see any role Israel play in the civil war in Syria? He, like many others are trying to save Syria from breaking up and hopes for a peaceful transition of power in the post-Assad era with an inclusive government.

As "this month marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Accords, which ended the Bosnian War," he proposes a similar peace plan to resolve the Syrian crisis - to set up an international “contact group” that would agree on a "framework", and to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table in order "to reach agreement within the framework." Hill ought to know that the Dayton Peace Accords brought temporary peace between the Bosnians, Croats, and Serbs following the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia.