Outside meddling has unleashed horror in Syria. We must step back | Simon Jenkins

Western arms and money have prolonged and intensified this civil war. Our only duties are to stop taking sides, and to help those fleeing the conflict

Today’s news that the American secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, are in Geneva to discuss ending the war in Syria should raise everyone’s spirits. Why does it not do so?

The answer is that these and other outside powers have tried this often before and failed. They have failed in large part because e...