Syria, et al., explained:

From politicalprof on Tumblr:

The western powers –along with some of their regional friends like the ever-wonderful Saudi Arabians, and some of their regional enemies like Iran – have basically decided that in the end, it is better to have brutal dictators in charge of Arab nations because after many decades of brutal rule by vicious dictators, including torture, wrecking their economies and utterly destroying any semblance of civil society, it is only vicious and horrific dictators who can suppress the horrors of the factions (like ISIS and al-Qaeda of Iraq) that were created … by the repressions of the brutal dictators. This is needed, we are told, because the factions are attacking the only thing they have ever known – savage brutality by the dictators – with the only thing they have ever known – savage brutality.

Simple, innit?

http://politicalprof.tumblr.com/