Why do we want Assad out?
Why do we want to weaken Russia ? It seems to me we would want a strong mostly non-Muslim country in the region.
Well, many people high up in Establishment circles believe that Russia is a major threat (if not THE major threat) to US interests around the world. You will recall that Romney, in one of the Presidential debates, said that Russia is the main threat that the US faces.
John Kerry, in his Presidential run, actually said that Al Qaeda is a nuisance, not a strategic threat. I regularly hear from liberal speakers that US citizens need to become more “resilient,” like Israel, in the face of terrorist attacks. So, Islamic terrorists are a “nuisance” but Russia is the real strategic threat.
One nightmare that US policy-makers have is that there should be some sort of rapprochement between Russia and Europe, giving Russia much influence over the entire Eurasian continent - this would threaten the US in terms of industrial capacity, military capacity, markets, etc.