Syrian Opposition Lays Out Postwar Plan, Doesn’t Mention Assad

Instead of Ruling Him Out, Opposition Ignores Him Outright

Syrian National Coalition (SNC) members have laid out a paper detailing their plans for a transitional government and the end to fighting in Syria, keeping with the plan for today’s talks in Geneva. The plan remains a secret.

One detail of the plan did come out, and it’s a rather clever solution to the ongoing dispute over President Bashar Assad’s potential role in the future Syrian government – they didn’t mention it.

Instead of railing against Assad and insisting he can’t be involved in any way, which has been what the SNC did in the past and what the US continues to do, the SNC simply left the question totally unanswered, avoiding the inevitable clashes with Assad representatives.

The US was quick with praise for the SNC plan, but also very brief with it, praising the SNC’s willingness to “engage constructively,” but segueing into a protracted condemnation of the Assad delegation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.