Syria_Corros

Answer via Patrick: Wiser, probably not. But there is a broad consensus among people on both sides that a military victory by either side is extremely unlikely and a negotiated political settlement would be the best way to end the conflict. How to achieve such a settlement is the big question, however. Of late, both the United States and Moscow have revived the idea of peace talks in Geneva, possibly as soon as next month. We don't know what will happen, or whether those talks will take place, but it is a sign that there may be some momentum towards a political settlement, however fragile and fleeting that sentiment may seem right now.

Answer via Raja: I'm not sure. Being on the ground gives us a first-person look at how complicated the situation is and is increasingly becoming as it devolves from a conflict between two sides to a war with multiple sides and players. There is no simple solution to stop all of the killing with many armed groups. But many of those who are killed each day are killed by government weapons like tanks, warplanes and Scud missiles. The chemical weapons currently being dismantled account for a small percentage of the more than 100,000 killed in Syria, so getting rid of those is not expected to make a large impact on the daily death toll. When I was in Syria recently, a man told me his take on the "give a man a fish.." saying. He said, "Don't give us refugee camps, give us a no-fly zone so we can live in our homes." His opinion reflects that of many Syrians (in opposition areas).

Raja: For the most part I don't think being a woman has negatively impacted my access in covering Syria and has had some benefits. You'll hear this a lot from female correspondents covering the Middle East that being a woman allows us to sit with women and families in more personal settings that would be difficult or impossible for men to do. This is of course needed when covering a war, because wars are about more than just armed men fighting on the frontlines. The Syrian conflict has created a huge humanitarian crisis and being able to access all parts of Syrian society enables me to better report on that.

Raja: There are probably hundreds of rebel groups across Syria right now and new groups are constantly being formed. Disunity and splintering has been one of the biggest problems plaguing the rebels from the start. I've seen small militias break up even further into smaller groups over small disagreements. We're seeing some recent efforts to unify certain rebel groups, mostly under Islamist banners, but it's unclear whether this will be successful. Past efforts haven't really panned out for them. What this means for Syria is an increasingly fractured country, where certain rebels groups could try to carve out their own territory. Some areas have already become like little warlord fiefdoms. For the rebels this fracturing of their ranks and in-fighting means they are constantly distracted from fighting against the Syrian government. Here's an article explaining more on the different groups

Patrick: Probably, in subtle and maybe not so subtle ways that I can't articulate right now. I guess everything about us affects our reporting in some way. In every war zone that I've been to, I've run into extraordinarily courageous women journalists, usually found a lot closer to the front lines than I. Nothing but admiration from me.

Raja: Of course it makes me very appreciative of living in a stable and safe city. Seeing how quickly lives and livelihoods can be disrupted shows us how much we take for granted. For example, I live in Los Angeles and any Angeleno knows well the sound of helicopters ("ghetto birds") flying low throughout the day. I remember when I was in Damascus last year and heard the sound of a helicopter early in the morning. My first thought was "Ugh, ghetto bird" before I quickly remembered where I was and the deadly implication of a military helicopter flying above (opposition areas are regularly attacked with government military helicopters and warplanes).