NEW: Syria's Preparatory Committee is Revealed

Broad group of 7 members will prepare Syria's National Conference

This morning, news is beginning to emerge that the much anticipated 7-member Preparatory Committee has been decided upon by Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa and will soon be officially announced. As I heard while I was in Syria, the group was personally designed by al-Sharaa and a week ago was being described as necessarily broad in representation. The group will personally supervise and design the National Conference, which is expected to bring together 1,200-1,500 Syrians from all 14 governorates and representing all sectors of Syria’s diverse society.

As it happens, the names represent figures associated with HTS, but also the Syrian National Army (SNA), NGOs and the aid community, and of the seven members, two are women. Provided these names are confirmed in the coming hours, the breadth of the group represents about as good a result as might have been imagined.