news conference the united states from the start was calling on assad to step down and we know if you look at the calendar it is simply not true. many other countries were ahead of the united states in calling for assad to step down but it's a tough one for the president. he is right in the sense the united states used military force in this region from the beginning, there is still a big hangover from the iraq war in this part of the world. it would have been controversial. all the choices are difficult. he does get a bit defensive when that question is posed, wolf. >> he certainly does at least that is the impression you get from his comments. john is traveling with the president in amman, jordan. the president also scored a huge diplomatic victory on this trip today. he personally helped orchestrate a major step in healing the rift between two critical u.s. allies. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu issuing a stunning apology to the turkish prime minister for this, an israeli commando attack that killed nine people on a gaza bound flotilla nearly three years ago. our senior international correspondent ivan watson is now