The announcement by the European Union of sanctions on Iran's elite Al-Quds military force for its apparent role in assisting Syrian president Assad's vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters is a welcome and much-needed development in the five-month long campaign to topple the Assad government. The list of sanctions also names five Syrian generals, a former defense minister and special Assad envoy, the deputy chief of the Syrian Army; and a businessman that it identifies as one of the government's financiers. Also included is President Assad's younger brother, Maher, who commands the army's Fourth Division and is believed to be responsible for much of the bloodshed. The measures freeze the assets of those named and prevent them from obtaining visas for travel to European Union countries. More significant, however, are upcoming sanctions that will ban EU members from purchasing oil from Syria. Those countries already buy up to 95 percent of Syria's oil, making the ban a particularly effective means of putting pressure on Assad. If the ban is offset by China stepping in to buy Syrian oil, it will put China in the same boat as Syria and Iran, not a particularly attractive position in the eyes of the majority of the world. Beyond the sanctions, it is telling that Assad freely allows Iran to train and supply his armed forces, whose violence against unarmed people is unprecedented in the events roiling the region, while Syrian opposition leaders have told foreign nations not to become involved in events on the ground there. It only further cements the president's obeisance to Iran while those who oppose his government are laying the groundwork for a truly independent Syria. Whether sanctions will hasten Assad's downfall or simply plunge Syria into chaos is yet to be seen. It is rare that sanctions have the desired impact, but anything that will put pressure on Assad to abandon his murderous campaign can only be for the ultimate good of Syria. __
