The payload of economic sanctions against Syria, held in reserve by the Bush administration for nearly six months, have been delivered:

President Bush will impose strict sanctions soon against Syria, which his administration charges is facilitating the movement of foreign fighters into Iraq and helping supply them with arms. A senior White House official said yesterday that the sanctions would come this week, possibly as early as today. ...Other possible sanctions include downgrading U.S. relations with Syria, already on the State Department's list of terror-sponsoring nations for its support of groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah; imposing travel restrictions on Syrian diplomats; and freezing Syria's assets in the United States.

Asked why the administration has decided to impose the sanctions on Syria, a White House source said: "They leave us no choice."

As most observers agree, the sanctions bring relatively little change to the tenuous relationship between Washington and Damascus; and more often than not the weight of long-term sanctions falls on a targeted country's oppressed population, their dictator hoarding what wealth and resources remain. But Syria, along with Iran, is largely responsible for unrest and violence in Iraq. The Ba'athist regime has long been a dedicated sponsor of terrorism — indeed, by its hostessing of Hezbollah and other murderous groups, Damascus embodies the kinship between so-called secular Arab Socialists and Islamofascists. Both affiliations are authoritarian and enemies of free nations; both must be defeated for victory in the war for freedom. The most important indication of sanctions, therefore, is the possibility that President Bush may follow with military action, limited or otherwise, against a persistently destructive Syria. For those already fatigued with the challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq, consider the paradox of regional involvement to destabilize Iraq: as long as openly hostile dictatorships like Syria enjoy unrestricted action, Iraq and our troops remain provoked by forces with the resources of entire countries. As long as Iraq and our troops remain provoked and beset, military action against belligerent nations looks like overstretch. So the Allies in Iraq, at present, remain on the regional strategic defensive. One end must give — and it's in America and Iraq's interests to drop all pretenses with Syria.