U.S. Moves Toward Recognizing Syria Opposition
Source: New York Times
By MICHAEL GORDON
Published: November 29, 2012
WASHINGTON — The United States is moving toward recognizing the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people as soon as it fully develops its political structure, American officials said Thursday.
The move, which could be announced at a “Friends of Syria” meeting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to attend in Morocco on Dec. 12, is the most immediate decision the Obama administration confronts as it considers how to end the government of Bashar al-Assad and stop the violence that has consumed Syria. Britain, France, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council have already recognized the opposition.
“They are a legitimate representative of the Syrian people’s aspirations,” Robert Ford, the American ambassador to Syria said Thursday at a conference on the Syrian humanitarian crisis. “They are making real progress and I expect that our position will evolve as they themselves develop,” he added.
Among the questions being debated within the administration as it weighs recognition are a host of legal issues about the implications of recognition, the effects on the efforts of the United Nations envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, to negotiate a political transition, the attitude of the Russian government and, most importantly, the state of the opposition.
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