Can we help Syria without making things worse?

“You smell death everywhere you go,” said a wounded activist last week, describing the Syrian city of Homs, where the regime of Bashar al-Assad has vented its fury on its own people. Horrors in Homs and other cities mount, but the opposition is not cowed. Yet their bravery is not enough: Despite almost a year of protests and regular reports of Assad’s imminent demise, the Syrian dictator remains in power.

The Arab League tried to broker a settlement to ease Assad out but failed, though it may take up the task again. Much of the world signed on to sanctions against Syria, but the economic pain so far is not enough to convince Assad loyalists to abandon the regime. As the body count grows, with hundreds reportedly dying this past week, the Syrian opposition is clamoring for help.

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What can the United States do? The Syrian opposition was initially leery of calling for American aid, but as the violence has grown, it has become more open to outside help, asking for “international protection” and calling plaintivelythis month for “everyone around the world to speak up and do something to stop the bloodshed of innocent Syrians.” Some among the opposition have now called for a Libya-style international intervention.

To be of any value, an intervention must end the bloodshed, or at least diminish it dramatically. Syria also must remain an intact state capable of policing its borders, stopping terrorism and providing services to its people. It should not fragment into a failed state, trade Assad for another dictator or become a pawn of foreign powers such as Iran.

As recent U.S. interventions have shown, the United States can be moved to help and advance freedom and its interests in the Middle East — but it can also make things worse or trip over unanticipated consequences. This knowledge should not be an excuse for standing by while Assad slaughters his people, but it should shape how the world responds.

Syria is not Libya. At least, NATO will not carry out a bombing operation there. Russia and China made their opposition clear at the United Nations, voting against a Security Council resolution that called for Assad to step down and asked Syria to withdraw the forces that are mowing down civilians in the country’s cities. Now Syria uses Russia’s anodyne calls for dialogue as a screen to step up repression.

The United States and Europe have little appetite for another war in the Middle East, particularly without U.N. cover. Meanwhile, sanctions are reshaping Syrian politics. Those sanctions, including travel bans and frozen assets, are devastating Syria’s tourism and energy sectors. The value of the Syrian pound is collapsing. All of this places tremendous pressure on Assad.

But sanctions are not a sure thing. In Iraq in the 1990s, similar measures rocked Saddam Hussein’s regime. He recovered, however, and was able to alleviate the economic pressure. He even used the scarcity that the sanctions created to squeeze his opponents and tarnish the international coalition arrayed against him. When Hussein fell, Iraq’s economy was hollow: There was a black market but no free market, and basic services such as electricity lay in ruins. When the United States took over, it had to restart the economy from scratch. Almost a decade later, Iraq has not fully recovered.