if a natural gas pipeline through Syria to Europe, from the Iran/Qatar field, leaves Russian control in place regarding energy balance of power, Syria needs to have Assad stay in power for Russia's sake.
if we turn that country into a tinder box full of sulfur matches, we'll get the biggest Islamic porridge bowl the world has ever seen, and you can bet it won't be us saying "this one's too hot, this one's too cold... "
Russia/China has serious reasons why they can't let us put Assad out of power, and us disguising our interest in the form of moral outrage is bluntly, imperiling the free world's status quo.
I'd rather not see WWIII, or even WWIIi, be that as it may.