Chapter Two - part nine

  The days quickly became weeks. James tried to talk to Sarah every day, but that didn't always happen. Their schedules didn't help either. James was 7 hours ahead of Sarah, so it was hard to find a time when they were both off duty and awake. At the end of the first month things had progressed very little in the overall talks. However James was now meeting regularly with all of the groups, without the U.N. being involved. He had started to push for something that even Aadila and Sabella were totally against though. James wanted to move some of the meetings outside the NATO secure zone. James wanted to go to them instead of waiting behind barricades and bunkers for them to come to him. He finally managed to get approval for limited excursions with heavy NATO escorts. Whoever he was meeting with also provided heavy security once he was inside their area of control. Another month of that and James had begun to gain the trust of not only the leaders, but many of the men who followed them. He had gradually been able to get NATO to reduce the size of his escorts, until he was taking only two lightly armored vehicles. It was finally time to make the next step. He started meeting with more than one group at a time. That had been very tense at first, but as the meetings continued without incidents it got better.

   Almost three months had passed before James was ready to try for the big meeting with all groups meeting in a selected spot at a selected time. James had managed to secure permission to go without a NATO escort to it. He went and the meeting went off without a hitch. It had only lasted a couple of hours, but that was a start. Again things continued to slowly progress towards something more meaningful. The groups still weren't ready to give up fighting in the streets. They all still believed they each had the best solutions for saving the nation and its people. Soon six more months had passed and still they were fighting against change rather than working towards it. Sabella and Aadila had once again been allowed to join in on the negotiations along the way. Aadila had actually begun to help bring some of them together, but they still had a long way to go. Finally James managed to work out a simple plan for them to form a temporary government, one that would be given control of all areas for six months. That six month period would be used to stabilize things and prepare for forming a real government. There would be no elections at the start. A convention would be held. It would be formed with all parties represented equally. Then together, they would select the people who would become the new temporary government. Depending on how it was set up the first free Syrian government in decades might be formed after that.

   All that remained was selecting the people to make up the convention. That convention would form the temporary government and write up a new Constitution. How to make the selections for the convention had been a real battle for James, but one he had finally won. Each group had wanted to select their own people without any outside input. James had insisted that each group bring the people they wanted into meetings with the group James felt was most opposed to their views. Those two groups had to agree on who would represent each of them by picking six people from ten selected by the other group. Once all groups had made that selection they would move on to the next step. That step would require them to bring all the people selected into the NATO secure area. Once everyone was there each group would get to talk with all of those selected and choose four people from each group except their own. Only people who received approval from each of the six groups would be allowed to be part of the convention. Until four people from each group, a total of twenty-four people, were selected they would repeat the process. Each group could replace a person in their group if they wished to help with the selection process, but that was all they could do. They had to find people from those provided by the other groups without being able to make any changes in the choices of the other group's people.

   It was a simple plan, but making it work was close to impossible among all the divisions within Syria. Religious and political views played havoc with any agreements, but economics and social unrest were becoming the major driving forces within the majority of the people. Most of the people were struggling to just survive. Many were nearly starving. The Syrian people didn't care who was in charge anymore. They just wanted to find some peace and stability. They wanted a safe home and food to eat. They wanted to be able to work and live without constant fear of dying in another street battle. That was more important to their daily lives than any religion or government at the moment. The first meeting was finally scheduled for selecting people to form the convention. James was to be allowed a say in who was selected by all groups. It wouldn't be a final say, but that they all wanted him to be there during the selections was a huge show of trust. They all had agreed that he had taken sides with nobody. James always chose what was fair and best for all. That first meeting was between Sargon Najjar and Khebat Shadid. It was basically the power base behind the former rulers meeting with the poor rural people who had nothing but trouble while under that rule. James, Aadila, and Sabella all arrived at the appointed time. The others arrived right along with them. Shadid and his people had provided the meeting place. Both he and the Lion were providing the security. The entire area, for several blocks had been secured and was heavily guarded before any of them had arrived.