The Deal That Isn't The (Announced) Deal

The Deal That Isn't The (Announced) Deal

While much attention in the press and among politicians in the United States has been paid to the deal with Iran that the U.S. and several powers signed, our observations suggest that another deal seems to have emerged from the negotiations leading to the Iran deal and other negotiations. This unannounced deal, we infer, calls for a hurried resolution to the two-year civil war in Syria in order to free forces and interested countries to focus their resources on defeating a common foe: the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, but most usually called ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. A concentrated wave of diplomatic meetings over the summer has apparently put in place a program that could be brought before the United Nations (UN) in the near future. How soon the turn to a focus on ISIS might be is less clear, although given the urgency with which this deal was put together, participants do not want to wait long. How well these countries, many of whom are adversaries on other issues, work for a desirable and shared outcome could alter dynamics in the region in unanticipated ways.

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