This cannot be overstated enough, this will kill christians in the middle east in the end equation...
Has it ever occurred to anyone that the State Dept and Brits maybe would want eastern Christians cleansed from the Middle East because they tend to be Orthodox Christians and thus identify with Russia in some way or have some sympathy with Russian Orthodox co-religionists?
Would the State Dept or London want a democratic Syria where 10% of the population is pro Russian if these Syrian Sunni rebels did indeed create a true democracy rather than a fake one like we have now in Muslim Brotherhood dominated Egypt (which is still an American ally)?
No, I think for the west - or those in the west backing this jihad in Syria - the elimination of Orthodox Christians from these important oil and gas pipeline nations is part of the equation for defeating or blocking Russian power in the region.
The Russians and Chinese back Assad, and so does Iran and Hezbollah. Al Qaeda has a faction (it is the strongest of the rebels). And there is a small pro-Western faction.
Just because Russia, China, and Iran are fighting Al Qaeda does not mean that they are our friends. Far from it.