During the decades of international sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, successive U.S. administrations yearned for regime change. The hope was that longstanding frustration with international isolation and relative deprivation would inspire some unspecified Baathist general to assassinate Saddam. One year into a popular uprising that has left nearly 10,000 civilians dead, Washington again finds itself waiting for a Baathist general to initiate a “silver bullet” coup—this time in Syria. “I think it is going to happen,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton predicted optimistically earlier this month.

Perhaps. But absent such providence, as with Saddam, Washington is going to require a more robust policy to dislodge Syrian dictator Bashar Assad from power. Just how much more muscular the policy should be is the topic of some debate. Earlier this this week, Senator John McCain made an impassioned plea for immediate military intervention—in particular, the deployment of U.S. air power—to help expedite regime change.