The global landscape has been scarred for decades by conflicts that defy both the passage of time and the efforts of armies and diplomats -- conflicts that at times seem so intractable as to appear impossible to solve.
That is why it's worth pausing to take note of a momentous, in fact, astonishing, development that has taken place in recent months: Three of the world's most durable, deadly and stubborn conflicts appear to be coming to an end.
The progress in resolving the decades-old conflicts in Somalia, Sudan and Myanmar will undoubtedly give rise to countless claims of credit. These are all complicated struggles involving ethnicity, natural resources and geopolitical forces. And they have all been influenced by powerful external players. No one individual, country or regime can fully claim victory in achieving peace, if lasting peace is, in fact, what we see rising over the horizon.