which is why but the principles davsd david, it s important to understand this. i think folks need to understand. which is why we have tried to pursue a diplomatic resolution, not because we re naive and think there isn t a real hot war on the ground. but at the end of the day, unless and until there s a political situation, this thing is not going to be resolved. it s not going to be resolved on the battlefield. so we ve been pursuing multiple you say that you met with intelligence chiefs from the region, the saudis and others who want more lethal aid provided to the rebels to tip the balance and actually take assad out. is the u.s. prepared to escalate on the ground to achieve a different result on the battlefield? the united states is actively supporting the moderate opposition with material support, with political support. and that support is increasing, david. and we re doing it in consultation and in coordination with countries in the region. we re also the largest
weapons out of syria. and they just they feel the u.s. has pledged for a long time to get assad out, president bashir al assad and have not done anything to fix things in syria, as the violence has gotten out of control. so the administration is going to try to reassure saudi arabia that the political process in geneva is working, they re trying to get a diplomatic solution here, and that the u.s. remains heavily involved in syria and very engaged. we re always looking when prime minister netanyahu comes to town. it s you never kind of know what s going to happen. it can be dramatic, it can be contentious. are they getting along. they don t always have the president obama and netanyahu haven t historically had the best relationship. and we re always kind of waiting, right? there s obviously talk of trying to revive the mid east peace process. what are we expecting, do you think, between them and in terms of really accomplishing something? well, we have they have a lot of is
that s what s bothering me. none of them are around us. so we need to relook this problem to make sure we get it right. if we want to say we want regime change, then let s take the appropriate action, even if it s covert. but that s not on the table it appears, any change or taking assad out. that s what s so troubling. our objectives are very murky. it s a shot across the bow. what does that mean? and then any unintended consequences, suez canal is closed or the straits of hormuz or 10,000 rockets into israel, then you start something and you say, well, we didn t have any real objective, just a shot across the bow, so what s the reason? we need more than that. but, general, there s a lot of wrongdoing in other parts of our world. i mean, africa comes to mind to me as well, and if the president is so focused on syria right now at a time when he has on his plate immigration, jobs, midterm
never arrive. what does that imply? the policy wasn t stalemate answer weren t interested in a victor and they weren t committed to the rebels and were too afraid of how many how much of al qaeda and other extreme forces had infiltrated the resistance, so at this point when you hear mccain and you hear senator i mean secretary of state kerry say they are moderates, they are moderates, they ve never made the case to the congress, the american people that they re sure they re moderates. the bulk of the population of the resistance so until for that to all of a sudden be part of the bargaining deal is really going to lose democrats and i think lose republican, as well. to that point, jonah, you know the policy of this administration was to see assad out. the president said it numerous times. he needs to go. he needs to leave. well, here s what general dempsey said about what he s been told about this mission so far. i have never been told to change the momentum. i have been told
has been for the last two years. so getting him on board is incredibly important. because other republicans will definitely follow mccain s lead on this issue. without mccain, it gives republicans an excuse to vote against it. just to be specific, when you say action, i mean, senator mccain is taking it to the point where he wants to interrupt the ground war, interrupt the civil war, and ultimately get assad out. correct? mccain supports regime change. that has been his position for quite some time. he hasn t gone into detail as far as i know about whether he wants boots on the ground or what. but he has supported military action against assad s regime for years. dana, you ve got some information on this call. 127 democratic members. lasted 70 minutes. tell me what you re learning about this call. i ll tell you just in one second. i just wanted to ask, jake was talking, got information we will hear from senators mccain and graham at the white house right after they have their m