The motorboat skipper who sits in our Secretary of State’s chair and his Russian counterpart, and some carefully selected “opposition and rebel groups,” have agreed to a cease-fire in Syria that is alleged to be effective Saturday next.

However.

The truce will not cover IS, the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, and any other militias designated as terrorist organizations by the UN Security Council. But where in Syria the fighting must stop and where counterterrorism operations can continue must still be addressed. And the five-page plan released by the US State Department leaves open how breaches of the cease-fire will be identified or punished.

In other words, there is no cease-fire. Only pretty words for the last months of a lame duck year in a lamed duck administration.