Holding Out Hope: Opposition Groups Join Syrian Peace Talks

Syrians are hoping that an end to the nation's five year conflict may be on the horizon. Today in Geneva, opposition groups have agreed to participate in peace talks with the Syrian government in hopes of finding a resolution to the bloody conflict that has killed over 250,000 and displaced millions.

"We are not going to test the intentions of the [Assad] regime," Riad Hijab said last week. Hijab is the leader of the opposition umbrella group known as the High Negotiations Committee. "We know what crimes they are committing."

But the United Nations is more optimistic. 

“What we are going to have, and I am expecting this to take place, is a serious discussion starting on three points: A new governance, a new constitution and, at the same time, a preparation for new elections," U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, claimed in an interview on Friday. "All this over 18 months.” 

After years of failure, is a new Syria really in reach?

David Kilcullen has witnessed and documented that failure firsthand. He's a former counterinsurgency adviser to General David Petraeus. His new book is "Blood Year: The Unraveling of Western Counterterrorism." He joins The Takeaway to discuss the latest in Syria, and America's broader efforts in the region.