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Four things Syria must do after Bashar al-Assad

It’s not too early to consider the way forward for Syria after Bashar al-Assad. Examples in other countries show that a transition will be greatly aided if Syrians can do these four things:
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Syria: U.N. says no one will win (+video)

The possibility of a drawn out civil war in Syria looms, as fighting continues across the country. Assad's army has ceded ground elsewhere in order to focus its resources on fighting in Aleppo. In the meantime, the U.N. may name a new envoy to replace Kofi Annan next week.
Terrorism & Security Rebels, observers dispute importance of Syrian prime minister's defection

Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab has defected from the Assad regime, but there have still been no defections among Alawite members of government, which would be the more telling sign.
Syrian prime minister defects from Assad regime (+video)

Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, a Sunni in Bashar al-Assad's Alawite-dominated government, is among the highest profile defectors to the opposition.
Backchannels Reuters hacked by pro-Assad propagandists again, this time on Twitter

After fake articles were planted on Reuters website by supporters of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Friday, hackers briefly seized control overnight of a Reuters Twitter account.
Backchannels In Syria, hardening sides, and risks of an even bloodier civil war

A new report argues the Syrian civil war is going to get a lot worse unless the country's rebels take a series of difficult and improbable steps.
Backchannels Manaf Tlass: Being groomed as the Syrian Ahmed Chalabi?

Manaf Tlas, a defector from the Assad regime, has it all: money, foreign friends, and a secular outlook. Now he's being pushed forward by foreign groups as Syria's strongman in waiting.
Four things Syria must do after Bashar al-Assad

It’s not too early to consider the way forward for Syria after Bashar al-Assad. Examples in other countries show that a transition will be greatly aided if Syrians can do these four things:
Terrorism & Security Fearing spillover, Turkey closes border with Syria as Aleppo braces for war

Thousands of Syrian troops are headed toward Aleppo, where rebels have taken over some neighborhoods. Many Syrians never expected the fighting to reach the regime stronghold.
Backchannels Does the CIA really have no idea about the nature of Syria's rebels?

It's hard to believe, but so say anonymous officials in a Washington Post article published yesterday.
Backchannels Deadly Iraq bombings and a reawakening insurgency

The Iraq war is over for the US, and the country is a more stable place than at the height of its civil war. But the Sunni insurgency never really died, and Syria is adding some fuel.
Opinion: The way forward in Syria after Bashar al-Assad

Yesterday's strategic bomb attack in Damascus shows it's not too soon to consider the way forward in Syria after the rule of Bashar al-Assad. Lessons from other countries teach that Syria and the international community will have to pull together for a successful transition.
Syrian ambassador's defection boosts idea of booting Assad, keeping others

The defection of two top Syrian officials, including the ambassador to Iraq, is prompting foreign policy experts to explore the idea of removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but keeping lower level officials.
Another day, another defector from Assad's Syria

The Syrian ambassador to Iraq defected today, the second prominent Sunni to do so in two weeks. With their departures, Syria's Sunni vs. Alawite conflict hardens.
WikiLeaks targets Syria with 'embarrassing' trove (+video)

WikiLeaks has obtained some 2.4 million e-mails, which relate to both the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the regime’s opponents, including Western countries.
Syrian opposition rejects plan for transitional government

Turmoil will likely continue after Syrian opposition groups rejected a compromise plan for a new transitional government.
Backchannels Chemical weapons raise the stakes in Syria

Syria's civil war is ugly, and outside intervention could make it uglier. But Syria's alleged chemical weapons stockpiles argue for a major US and international role if the Assad regime collapses.
UN Monitors find stench of death in Syrian town

The monitors were only just able to get to the town of Haffa after a week of attempts.
Backchannels Syria war drumbeat builds, but where is it leading?

Pundits from John Bolton to Nick Kristof are issuing calls to arms. But there's little regard for national interest, or the law of unintended consequences, in the urgings to act now.
A day in the life of a UN observer in Syria

Gen. Robert Mood's job is to convince both sides in Syria's civil war that they're not interested in destroying the other.
Backchannels Kofi Annan admits Syria plan failing, calls for international action

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the UN's special envoy to Syria, essentially admitted his mediation efforts have failed in a speech at the UN and laid most of the blame at the feet of Bashar al-Assad.
Backchannels Why it's time to call Syria a civil war

A generally accepted definition of civil war is a fight for control of a nation, involving the state, one or more non-state actors, and at least 1,000 battlefield casualties. Sounds like Syria.
Backchannels You can't say it enough: Syria is really different from Libya

Syria's war is as violent today as at any point of the over year-long conflict, and a UN peace plan spearheaded by Kofi Annan is in tatters. But that doesn't spell military intervention.
Backchannels The horror in Syria, the cold realities of international action

Syria's civil war is horrific, with most of the crimes committed by the Assad regime and its supporters. This may lead to moral clarity, but not necessarily to international military action.
Syria holds an election despite months of fighting

The election is the first multiparty poll since Syria's new constitution was adopted in February. But early voting appeared thin as the opposition refused to participate.
Syrian forces kill teenager in another Aleppo attack, reports say

One day after a raid on a local college campus resulted in four deaths, Syrian forces fired on a large group of protesters in Aleppo Friday.