The US is saying it is in negotiations with several Republican Guard commanders. I hope it's true, though there's no way to say one way or another.

My gut instinct is that it's all psychological ops, with military intelligence units feeding reports to the media when in reality there are no ongoing negotiations. Upon hearing such reports, Republican Guard commanders could start having doubts -- are they being sold out by their colleagues? Will they get hung out to dry? Perhaps they need to negotiate also!

If that's the strategy, it's brilliant. Let's hope it works. And if the US is really negotiating with Republican Guard commanders, even better.