That hope was boosted Friday with the news that Roger D. Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, had arrived in the capital city of Damascus along with two other top U.S.
When rebels seized Hama on Dec. 6, their leader Ahmed al-Sharaa referred to it, saying they would "cleanse that wound that has persisted in Syria for 40 years". Rifat al-Assad helped Hafez al-Assad ...