The surprise resurgence of Syria's civil war is shaking the table for the United States, which tried to turn the page years ago on a devastating conflict where it saw few good outcomes.
The latest turmoil in a chaotic region comes less than a couple months before the return of President-elect Donald Trump, whose team could see an unexpected opportunity as part of its bid to reshape the Middle East, albeit with plenty of question marks.
The lightning offensive by Islamist rebels, who seized Syria's second largest city of Aleppo, came after U.S. ally Israel worked to degrade two key supporters of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad — Iran and its affiliated Lebanese Shiite militia, Hezbollah. Russia, another backer of Assad, has been heavily focused on its invasion of Ukraine.
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