The Syrian Civil War Is On The Verge Of Getting Even Worse

 There are millions of Syrians within and without the country who won't accept either choice, but the military situation is serious.

 'If Aleppo falls, the idea of a united Syria could fall with it. The only combatants left would be a serial human rights abuser that's beat a tactical retreat to a sectarian enclave in the west — and ISIS, perhaps the richest and best-armed jiihadist group in history.

 The rebels have endured a series of setbacks since mid-2012, when some observers believed the Assad regime was on the brink of collapse.

 The American-brokered Syrian chemical weapons deal effectively destroyed any chance of game-changing U.S. support against Assad, a development that the Crisis Group says fractured the rebel coalition and forced certain factions into a pragmatic alliance with al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al Nusra.'