what he is setting out to do is enforce the norm with respect to international convention on chemical weapons. and it is targeted to do that. it will clearly have an impact on assad s military capacity. but we will continue and we will even i think sharpen the focus of our efforts to support the opposition, to work with allies and friends in the region, all of whom understand that assad has lost any legitimacy as a leader of syria and to try to hold syria together with a political solution that can be achieved through the geneva process. and we will continue to work with russia in conjunction with us in that effort to try to achieve that political settlement. that is our top priority. that is the fundamental objective of all of our efforts. it is to recognize that there isn t ultimately a military solution. there has to be a negotiated political solution. and the president remains deeply committed to that. mr. secretary, thank you for
politically through the geneva process, through our commitment to the ultimate negotiated settlement that will have to take place, there is no future for assad in that governance. but this military operation is specifically geared to prevent a future chemical attack and to deter and to degrade the assad capacity to be able to do that. now let me be clear. whatever the president ultimately decides to do in that context i assure you assad will feel its impact and they will know that something has happened. before i let you go, how can americans feel confident that america s first strike against syria in this civil war will be its last? david, that will depend on whether assad decides to use chemical weapons or not. the president of the united states does not intend to and does not want to see the united states assume responsibility for
states has said that assad must go, and that is the policy of the united states. but we do not believe that this military action the president has decided to take should be more than an effort to try to deter and prevent the use of chemical weapons and to degrade his capacity to use those weapons. so the military operation is not calculated to become involved in the effort to topple him, but the political operation and the support for the opposition is. and the president of the united states, as you know, has declared that we will provide additional support to the opposition. we do not believe there is any scenario under which assad can continue with any kind of authority whatsoever to govern in syria. and so, yes, the policy is politically through the geneva
support for the opposition is. and the president of the united states, as you know, has declared that we will provide additional support to the opposition. we do not believe there is any scenario under which assad can continue with any kind of authority whatsoever to govern in syria. and so, yes, the policy is politically through the geneva process, through our commitment to the ultimate negotiated settlement that will have to take place, there is no future for assad in that governance. but this military operation is specifically geared to prevent a future chemical attack and to deter and to degrade the assad capacity to be able to do that. now let me be clear. whatever the president ultimately decides to do in that context i assure you assad will feel its impact and they will know that something has happened. before i let you go, how can
political solution that can be achieved through the geneva process. and we will continue to work with russia in conjunction with us in that effort to try to achieve that political settlement. that is our top priority. that is the fundamental objective of all of our efforts. it is to recognize that there isn t ultimately a military solution. there has to be a negotiated political solution. and the president remains deeply committed to that. mr. secretary, thank you for your time. i appreciate it. thank you. i want to bring in senator rand paul, republican from kentucky. he s on the foreign relations committee as well. senator, welcome. good morning. glad to be with you. so you heard the secretary of state break news this morning that the evidence, the intelligence suggests now this was a sarin gas attack at the hands of the assad government. the secretary saying as he just did the case is building and will continue to build. is that enough for you to now vote to authorize the