Assad’s Syria Was Brutal. Will What Comes Next Be Better?

It is hard not to rejoice while watching images of ecstatic Syrians toppling statues from the regime of the deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad and hearing the shouts of joy of prisoners, many of whom may have been tortured and starved, released from his dungeons. Mr. al-Assad’s Syria was brutal for the regime’s opponents, and 13 years of civil war and a kleptocratic regime made life dangerous and miserable for ordinary Syrians. In addition to striking a blow for human freedom, Mr. al-Assad’s fall also removes an Iranian-backed, anti-American and anti-Israel dictator from the Middle East chessboard.

And yet it is hard not to also feel uneasy. Having watched similar images of Afghans freed from the Taliban’s violent rule in 2001 and jubilant Iraqis in 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein, one worries that Syrians’ sense of deep relief today could be followed by a new set of horrors tomorrow.