As lucky a break the US got to call off the dogs of war "gracefully", the deal can still go sour if not properly handled. Diplomatic progress can easily be doomed by political hacks looking to score politically. Behind the scenes, the Syrians must have been brought to this point kicking and screaming, so now is not the time to squeeze.
Secretary of State John Kerry says nothing focuses the mind than the treat of a hanging. We say trapped animals fight fiercest.
The world may have to sacrifice its "due" pound of flesh in order to secure Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons. Now that a glimmer of progress can be seen, it would be tragic to continue to calling for regime change through arming the rebels.
Now is the time to identify the hard cases, opportunist, criminals gang elements, islamist extremist and weed them out. Vetting the opposition could be as difficult as obtaining, securing and destroying Syria's chemical weapons stockpile. Inspections conducted in the middle of a firefight can be a most daunting task.
Now is the time to broker an immediate ceasefire with the "politically motivated" opposition to get talks going in Geneva. Once responsible opposition leaders have been responsibly vetted, the world's attention can be focused on the refugee crisis and encourage all parties tp prep for elections.
Anybody refusing to participate can be legitimately considered an enemy of Syria and an obstacle to international efforts for a peaceful political solution.
If this deal has the slightest chance of working, its going to be incumbent upon President Obama to rein in the rhetoric of Congressional grandstanders and 2016 presidential hopefuls. The Syrians have already been pushed, this is not the time to shove.
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