Rajan Menon: Syria is doomed to instability Outside agents will stoke chaos, Menon tours the multiple strains of instability likely to manifest in post-Assad Syria especially targeting “meddling foreigners.” Well, with Russia and Iran presently on the run, the USA, Turkey, and Israel are the meddlers of note, all having boots on the ground. Menon also notes that “the West…won’t provide sweeping sanctions relief anytime soon: it will first test HTS’s governance practices.” Probably true but certainly a mistake. The paramount threat at present is instability. So humanitarian, stability, and reconstruction aid should commence immediately. The Assad sanctions should depart as he did. Don’t grandfather in the new government. If necessary, new sanctions can be designed and imposed in the case of threats to international peace (including gross human rights violations). Otherwise, avoid efforts at coercive regime shaping – they’ve proved worse than ineffective.
