Paris attacks: the possible consequences

The Paris attacks were unprecedented in their scale in France and shocking in their method. Peace talks to end the Syrian civil war had drifted along for years before a snowballing refugee crisis in Europe this summer and Russia's dramatic entry into the conflict in September gave them new urgency. Given growing evidence of a Syrian link, the attacks in Paris will hike pressure on world leaders to overcome their deep divisions and solve a problem that is a key source of Islamic extremism.