First of all, loltowerSpider wrote:Why not (F) . . . but less volatile . .
Second of all, in general it's never a good habit to ask on SC "What if it were...?" because the answer choices are correct specifically in comparison to each other, and the right answer here is not the "perfect" phrasing at all; it's merely less error-ridden than its compatriots.
That being said, you are correct, a totally different but correct construction could have been:
"...see the Middle East as unstable at present but less volatile in the future."
This would make "unstable" and "volatile," adjectives, in parallel construction, connected by "but."
Very clever












