It is hard not to rejoice while watching images of ecstatic Syrians toppling statues from the regime of the deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad and hearing the shouts of joy of prisoners, many of whom may have been tortured and starved, released from his dungeons. Mr. al-Assad’s Syria was brutal for the regime’s opponents, and 13 years of civil war and a kleptocratic regime made life dangerous and miserable for ordinary Syrians. In addition to striking a blow for human freedom, Mr. al-...