Not so long ago Noura al-Ameer was being beaten and subjected to electric shocks in a Syrian prison. Today, she sits across from the regime that put her there, hoping diplomacy can end her country's suffering. "It was as if I was seeing the faces of the killers, the bombers, the...

The job was too much for Kofi Annan. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning former U.N. secretary general - hardly known as a quitter - threw in the towel in August 2012, declaring that serving as international mediator for Syria was impossible as long as global powers were hopelessly divided....

Not so long ago Noura al-Ameer was being beaten and subjected to electric shocks in a Syrian prison. Today, she sits across from the regime that put her there, hoping diplomacy can end her country's suffering. "It was as if I was seeing the faces of the killers, the bombers, the...

A man lies dead; his severely emaciated body makes the rib cage protruding from his midsection look violent and sharp. A child sits in the dirt, the closed storefront behind him spray-painted with the words "I swear to God I am hungry." The lifeless body of a baby lies discolored and...