(Al Monitor) Aaron David Miller - It's hard to imagine that the new Kofi Annan plan for a national unity government leading to a political transition in Syria will have any more success than his last six-point initiative. As much as we'd all like to see a settlement negotiated, the killing end, the Assads depart, and a new democratic Syria born, it's unlikely to happen through the UN special envoy's plan. These kind of conflicts usually end when one side prevails or third parties intercede to tip the balance and force a solution. Neither is likely to happen anytime soon. Forget Kofi Annan. Not even Superman could unwind the current mess playing out in Syria. The conflict in Syria is less amenable to outside persuasion and intervention precisely because it's owned - as only a struggle for survival can be - by the parties waging it. And those who sit in Geneva, for all their good intentions, seem strangely irrelevant despite their collective power.
2012-07-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive