Their friend has nuclear weapons

 "The bombing of Iraq last weekend was soaked in hypocrisy. Shia Muslims in the south and Kurds in the north rose up against Saddam Hussein at the end of the 1991 Gulf War. They wanted to overthrow the 'evil tyrant' the US and Britain told us that war was all about. But in another sick display of their hypocrisy, the US and Britain sat back and watched while Saddam Hussein brutally crushed both risings. Whatever they say today, they preferred Saddam Hussein in office to the prospect of a popular rising."

 If the Americans had armed the Shia in the South of Iraq or the Kurds in the North when they rose against Saddam Hussein AFTER the Gulf War in 1991, would those condemning the prospect of American help for Syrian rebels have condemned the Americans then? Of course they would, and had no problem calling the Americans hypocrites. I'm sure they'd say that the ongoing sanctions and occasional bombing would render such risings just part of an American proxy war, and so support for them is contingent for the geo-politicists on the risings not getting enough support to avoid being crushed.

 Those in the SWP and the ISO who have been lukewarm about the rebels getting guns in Syria might do well to reflect, because they should know better.