Syrian rebels are making headway against President Bashar al-Assad. In recent weeks, they have seized several military bases and shot down military aircraft, reportedly with shoulder-fired missiles, but there is no end in sight to the war. More than 40,000 Syrians have been killed, 2.5 million are now displaced and more than 600,000 are refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.
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Mr. Assad's bloody rule must end. Still, neither NATO, the Arab League nor the United Nations Security Council have called for military action. And President Obama's caution is certainly the right approach. But it is necessary to look for ways to raise the pressure on Mr. Assad and encourage a stable postwar Syria.
One way to do that is for NATO to approve next week the deployment of surface-to-air Patriot missiles in Turkey, which requested the weapons. Syria is believed to have several hundred ballistic surface-to-surface missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads. Turkey is alarmed by Syrian bombing raids near its border and has reason to fear the conflict could spill over. NATO says the Patriot missiles are strictly defensive. Stationing missile batteries in Turkey should limit Syrian bombing of the northern border towns, where the rebels hold territory.
The administration is also working with a new opposition coalition to represent all Syrians and establish a transitional government to take over once Mr. Assad is gone. The original opposition group failed because it was divided, incapable of making decisions and unable to persuade Syrians that they were a viable alternative. Since it was founded a month ago, the National Coalition of the Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces has made progress but not enough. Britain, France, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council have recognized the group as Syria's legitimate representative, but Washington is right to hold off until it sees more results, perhaps by an international meeting in Morocco on Dec. 12.
The administration has been providing the opposition with intelligence and medical aid. While there are increasing calls for more action — like a no-fly zone that would use American and allied missions to keep Syria from using its airplanes and missiles — the hazards are substantial. Syria is more complicated than Libya, where NATO aided a rebel victory by establishing a no-fly zone. It has more advanced Russian air defense systems near population centers that would have to be taken out first, which could cause more civilian casualties.
The administration is right to resist arming the rebels. Many have murky aims and some are extremist. Of late, they have received ample basic weapons from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and have also acquired antiaircraft weapons, some seized from Syrian military stocks. There is a risk that sending more such weapons into Syria could later end up in the hands of extremists, including in other countries.
While the main goal is ousting Mr. Assad, the United Nations and some American officials talk of a negotiated deal to limit the bloodshed. But Mr. Assad and the rebels are focused on a military victory. That makes any decision to become more involved all the more complicated.
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