US RECOGNITION... WHAT WILL IT MEAN?

Ok, right off the bat, the most pressing question, one the US has contemplated I'm sure, is what will Assad's rebuttal be to the US announcement?

The past two weeks has seen a dramatic escalation in bad news for Assad and this announcement will just be stacked on top of all the other events.

Placing al-Nusra on the Terrorist List, is a no brainier and had to be accomplished before the US could even consider recognition.

The bad news, news that is actually much worse than bad, is al-Nusra Front is only one offshoot of Islamic Radicals operating in Syria.

Ask anyone working the issue of Syria and they will tell you the most combat effective organizations facing Assad are the Islamist groups, especially al-Nusra Front.

If the world is counting on the newly recognized "government" of Syria to be able to deal with these groups in a post Assad world, then they better have a very high level of support commitment ready and you better have the right players ready to help.

The world will also need to find a way to keep Iran from supporting anyone and everyone that can prevent the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, for that is exactly who will end up running the newly recognized Syrian government, from coming to power.

A "Western" victory on the fall of Assad based upon this newly formed, recognized group will meet tremendous resistance from Iran.

What "deals" have been made with Moscow and the Tsar to attempt to get the Russians on board will come to light sometime soon for you can bet the Tsar will not trade away Russian interest in Syria for a handshake.

So, is the US recognition of Ahmed Mouaz al-Khatib's group a good thing?

It depends and what your expectations are for Syria.

The announcement today is just one in a series of moves with many yet to come.

Oh ya.... Is Assad more desperate now?

Absolutely!

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/20121212002312142.html