Syrian opposition group collapses

In the National, here, via Syria Comment.

"...Syria had just been forced to withdraw its army from Lebanon, a major setback for the regime, and was under intense pressure from the international community for reform. Abdelhalim Khaddam, the former vice president, had defected to Brussels and vowed to reveal many regime secrets and a political storm was brewing over Damascus.......................But when the NSF alliance collapsed this month, it caused hardly a murmur in Syrian circles.

“Khaddam believed the Syrian regime would be finished after pulling out of Lebanon and he thought that the NSF would form the new government. He and the Muslim Brotherhood were betting that foreign pressure and foreign forces were going to be about regime change in Syria as they had done in Iraq. They were wrong.”..............
Already cool relations between Mr Khaddam and Mr Bayanouni deteriorated rapidly after the January war in Gaza, during which the Brotherhood suspended its activities against the Syrian regime, which was supporting Hamas, effectively its arm in Palestine. By that stage, the cracks had become impossible to avoid. There was already speculation the Brotherhood had entered into mediated talks with the Syrian authorities about lifting capital punishment for membership in the group and allowing exiles to return, though neither step has been taken....
“At the moment, none of the opposition groups has any real influence … both inside and outside of Syria. At the moment the strongest thing [is] the security [services], the strongest thing is the regime.”