Syria Feature: US Plans for a Post-Assad Country (Myers/Shanker)

Steven Heydemann of the US Institute of Peace, involved with the Obama Administration's manoeuvres for a post-Assad Syria, on the US Public Broadcasting Service, 18 July 2012

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“The main question we’re looking at is how it all plays out after the Assad regime collapses,” one American official said. “Chapter 1 is he’s gone. Chapter 2 is the post-Assad transition, and initial efforts at stabilization. Chapter 3 is completely unknown, and therefore more than a little scary.”

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Syria Revealed: The Quiet Planning for a Country After Assad

Steven Heydemann, involving in planning with Syrian opposition groups, on the US Public Broadcasting Service this week

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For the last six months, 40 senior representatives of various Syrian opposition groups have been meeting quietly in Germany under the tutelage of the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) to plan for how to set up a post-Assad Syrian government.

The project, which has not directly involved U.S. government officials but was partially funded by the State Department, is gaining increased relevance this month as the violence in Syria spirals out of control and hopes for a peaceful transition of power fade away. The leader of the project, USIP's Steven Heydemann, an academic expert on Syria, has briefed administration officials on the plan, as well as foreign officials, including on the sidelines of the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul last month.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Regime's Offensive

2126 GMT: Turning to Bahrain, a woman who was arrested for listening to a revolutionary song in her car has been released, and was greeted by a large crowd upon getting out of prison:

Fadhila al-Mubarak was detained during martial law last year at a checkpoint for listening to a tape praising a pro-democracy protest movement that erupted in February after uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Said Yousef al-Muhafda said.

Mubarak was sentenced to four years in jail for taking part in the Pearl Roundabout protests, inciting hatred of the government and insulting a public official, Muhafda said. The sentence was later reduced to 18 months and must still be appealed.

2025 GMT: This video, according to the Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre, was taken today, and shows the Assad military bombarding Zabadani (see updates below):

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