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US Courts Emerging Leaders in Syria to Avoid Iraq Pitfalls

As the US scrambles to establish ties with the Syrian opposition, it's also trying hard to avoid an exile-centric strategy that risks repeating the debacle of Iraq, write Al-Monitor's Barbara Slavin and Laura Rozen. Still, on the heels of Kofi Annan's resignation as UN envoy to Syria, some insiders wonder if a transition plan will make any difference.
Members of Syria's opposition attend a Syrian opposition conference in Cairo July 2, 2012. Members of Syria's opposition and Arab and other foreign ministers begin a two-day conference in Cairo. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

As the United States scrambles to establish ties with emerging leaders in the Syrian opposition, President Barack Obama's administration is trying hard to avoid an exile-centric strategy that risks repeating the debacle of Iraq.

Steven Heydemann, a Middle East expert at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), who at the behest of the administration has been working with Syrian opposition figures for 10 months on a “day after” strategy for Syria, told Al-Monitor that Syrians active in the fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime have been able to join in discussions outside the country about a political transition. That includes a conference Heydemann attended this week in Cairo.

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