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Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/15/the-risks-in-negotiating-with-syrias-assad/
The Risks in Negotiating with Syria's Assad
(Wall Street Journal) Aaron David Miller - Secretary of State John Kerry's comments that the Obama administration is considering negotiating with the Assad regime to achieve a political settlement in Syria will feed the perception that Washington recognizes that Iran - Syria's key patron - is the region's preeminent power. "Assad must go" was a never a serious U.S. policy. The rise of Islamic State forced the administration to prioritize. ISIS's anti-American agenda, with its savage beheadings, led the administration to see Assad as the lesser of two evils. But Kerry's comments will further demoralize the U.S.-backed Syrian opposition; anger Gulf Arabs, who believe that Washington is appeasing Tehran in an effort to conclude a nuclear agreement; and delight Iranians. The writer is a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.