We're helping who in Syria's civil war? US President Barack Obama wants to kill a few Syrians to send a message that killing people with gas is bad. ONLY now - more than two years into Syria's civil war - have the United States and some allies decided to Do Something. Strangely, we didn't have to Do Something while 100,000 Syrians were blown up, shot, beheaded or raped to death. But we apparently do now that 1500 more have been killed in a chemical weapons attack blamed on the Syrian Government. US President Barack Obama now wants to kill a few Syrians himself to send a message that killing people with gas is bad. "If we are saying in a clear and decisive but very limited way, we send a shot across the bow saying, 'Stop doing this,' this can have a positive impact on our national security," he added. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agrees killing more Syrians with American bombs will stop other people killing Syrians with gas. In the absence of such a response, the problem is this - the regime could then take succour that it could do this again. Gassing people - including many children - is indeed ghastly, but other ways of killing don't seem much better. The United Nations, for example, has accused soldiers of the opposition Free Syrian Army of rape and murder of Syrian women. One rebel soldier was filmed eating the heart of a government soldier. And this suggests the real problem with bombing Syrian Government facilities in reprisal for the chemical weapons attack. Who would the West help? Invading Iraq at least replaced a genocidal dictator with infinitely better elected governments. But attacking the repulsive Syrian regime can only help the two strongest rebel forces in this war - both allies of al-Qaida. One, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, is an al-Qaida affiliate. The other, Jabhal al-Nusra, is listed in the US as a terrorist organisation, and is responsible for many suicide bomb attacks. Between them, these forces have attracted thousands of foreign fighters, including jihadists from Australia. Some argue more moderate forces in the resistance should get more aid to rival the power of the Islamists, but that could prove a losing bet. It could also risk the blowback the US got after arming the "moderate" Taliban to fight the Russians - who, incidentally, back the Syrian regime and could react badly to US reprisals. The temptation to punish someone for this gassing is overwhelming, but doing nothing might still prove safer.