Good points, although I’m not so sure I feel bad for Syria’s Alawites - at least the ones actually ruling.
The OP similarly distorts WW2 history. “The treatment” given to Germany and Japan in 1940 and 1941:
A) Started a lot earlier than that, and was still way too little, too late, and poorly targeted as well. German re-armament and aggression should have been militarily smashed in its infancy.
B) Did not exactly come out of a vacuum. (German re- armament and aggression should have been militarily smashed in its infancy!)
A and B would have demanded blood and treasure...