Managing Iran and Turkey, biggest obstacles to Syrian peace plan.

SYRIAN STABILITY PLAN MOVES FORWARD

REAL JUGGLING ACT FOR LEADERS OF PEACE PLAN

Much progress has been made in the quest for the stabilization of Syria. Much of the plan is falling into place but it is still a very fragile endeavor.

Positive developments are that the UAE and Bahrain have reopened their embassies in Damascus.

Syria may soon be readmitted into the Arab League.

Saudi Arabia has pledged financing for reconstruction in Syria and other Gulf countries are expected to sign on to such plan.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt will supply forces to protect the borders of Iraq.

A stable Syria will allow displaced refugees to return home and help to stabilize the region.

There is a summit of all those involved to be held in Poland in the near future to work out more details of implementing the course to a stable and more democratic Syria.

The concern by most is that Iran will try to fill the void left by the withdrawal of forces from Syria. Dealing with Iran's support for terrorists and proxies in Libya, Lebanon and Yemen will be a difficult issue, but economic sanctions and unity of other middle east nations will help in making that possible.

Turkey's insistence on attacking the Kurds is another matter. If Turkey believes the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria is a sign of weakness and a opportunity to punish the Kurd it may be a huge miscalculation for Ankara. The Trump administration has warned Turkey that any attack on the Kurds will lead to crippling economic sanctions. The Kurds, with U.S. air support would not be as easy of a target as they believe.

Such an attack would also not be well received by Russia which has invested much time and energy into this plan. Putin has never acted on Turkey after it shot down one of their aircraft several years ago, but you can bet they have not forgotten the incident. Turkey may want to be careful not to give Putin an opportunity to make a statement in retaliation to aggression by Turkey.

A stable independent and secure Syria is a first step in a quest for overall Mideast peace. The cooperation of the many nations involved is a positive sign for the future. We will have to hope that it will continue.