With all the violence and destruction in the Middle east I have read some papers that talking about a transitional phase for the two countries…..

There are always plans within plans….the problem is that none seem to be working….that is with the exception of the recent ceasefire…..believe it or not even with the violations seems to be holding…..

While Syria’s ceasefire is slowly unfolding as expected, it is fair to say that the general fight against ISIL, which has two parallel tracks: military and political, is facing serious obstacle on both tracks at present. Yet, we do not see those obstacles as signs of regress. They look more like signs of progress, albeit in a very slow pace.

Militarily, however, we hear now US military officials explain that defeating ISIL in Mosul, Raqqa and elsewhere in Iraq and Syria will require putting more US boots on the ground there. In his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday March 8, General Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, pointed to the need for “additional capability” to retake Mosul, as well as ISIL “capital” Al Raqqa in Syria. “We could increase some elements of the Special Operations footprint”, he said.

Source: The Bi-Polar Nature of the Transitional Phases in Iraq and Syria | Middle East Briefing

With the ceasefire being a success, at least for the time being, there are a few people that are talking about the partitioning of Syria…..kind of like the talk when Iraq started imploded back in 2005………

The major nations behind the UN push to get peace talks going to end the Syrian Civil War are not just trying to get everybody to the negotiating table, as diplomats say they are also working on an agreement to impose a federal system on Syria as a way of helping to resolve the war.

Both Russia and the US, along with other Western nations, are said to be on board with the idea. Russia has favored federalism as a way to nominally  maintain nations’ territorial integrity while allowing more regional autonomy, and the Syria plan is said to eye dramatically weakening the central government in favor of local powers.

At some point they’re bound to run this idea by the Syrians, however, and while the US and Russia seem keen to simply impose a solution on Syria it’s not clear how much Syrian support they’ll have. Rebels have already made clear they oppose any effort to weaken the central government they believe they’ll eventually be installed in control of, and while the Assad government hasn’t ruled out federalism, they want it to be the result of a referendum and internal negotiation, not just something the US and Russia decided.

(antiwar.com)

More on the possible partitioning of Syria…….

Source: Key Powers Mulling Possibility of Federal Division of Syria | World Affairs Journal

Once again everybody has a plan or an idea……the problem is no one is asking the Syrian people what they want….wait!  That will be difficult since most are on the road trying to find some safety and security….so I guess that gives others power to decide the future of Syria….good plan!