ledge, strategy and will to secure these? Second, post Assad Syria is going to be a mess. It will require a se

dominate the country's political life. Regarding the widespread upheaval in Syria, the Saudis will work to ensure that any potential transition to a post-Assad era is as peaceful and as free of Iranian meddling as possible. Regarding Israel, Riyadh is adamant that a just settlement, based on King Abdullah's

ng, Erdogan and his foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, who have long harboured regional leadership ambitions, seem to be positioning themselves for a post-Assad future. In this push towards the Syrian endgame they plainly have the enthusiastic backing of the US, for whom they are effectively acting as a local

urse, if they could arrive before any WMD were transferred or looted -- a highly unlikely prospect. Complicating any efforts to secure Syria's WMD, post-Assad, are its porous borders. With Syria's government distracted by internal revolt and US forces now fully out of Iraq, it is plausible that stolen che

yrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army, Ankara hopes to have gained the leverage to influence the behavior of the future leadership in the post-Assad era. But now harder choices await Turkish policy makers. To create the right conditions for the emergence of a political process of reconciliation

guy who has taken all the wrong steps in response to protest," says a White House official. The thinking in Washington now is about getting to the post-Assad era, quickly and peacefully. EFTA00587454 211 Foreign Policy Saudi Arabia's youth unemployment woes go far deeper than most realize Ellen Kni

ominate the country's political life. Regarding the widespread upheaval in Syria, the Saudis will work to ensure that any potential transition to a post-Assad era is as peaceful and as free of Iranian meddling as possible. Regarding Israel, Riyadh is adamant that a just settlement, based on King Abdullah'

guy who has taken all the wrong steps in response to protest," says a White House official. The thinking in Washington now is about getting to the post-Assad era, quickly and peacefully. EFTA_R1_02034297 EFTA02691783 Arbele 5. Foreign Policy Saudi Arabia's youth unemployment woes go far deeper than

urse, if they could arrive before any WMD =ere transferred or looted -- a highly unlikely prospect. Complicating any ef=orts to secure Syria's WMD, post-Assad, are its porous borders <http://tarpley.net/docs/CTCForeignFighter.19.Dec07.pdf> =span style="font-size:18.0pt">. With Syria's government distracte

equen=es to Kazakhstan's oil and gas interests in the Caspian. The opposition and the rebels are so diverse and split that a likely scenar=o for the post-Assad era with high likelihood will produce a second civil =ar. The geostratigic importance of Syria can not be underestimated. The lo=s of Syria for Iran