Unlike Lebanon during its 15-year civil war, no regional power today would be able to contain Syria’s war within its borders. As a result, it is much more likely that Syria’s disintegration would call the entire post-World War I (or post-Ottoman) Middle Eastern state system – also called the “Sykes-Picot” system – into question.
事实上，黎巴嫩隐喻可以说太温和了。与黎巴嫩及其15年内战不同，如今没有地区大国能让叙利亚战争仅仅局限于叙利亚境内。因此，更有可能的是叙利亚的分崩离析导致一战后（或奥斯曼帝国后）的中东国家体系——亦称“赛克斯-皮科”（Sykes-Picot）体系——陷入危机。