use that influence to get the assad regime to abide by the cessation of hostilities. and in the last few weeks, we have seen concerning pattern of violation to that cessation of hostilities. and that's why we continue to urge the russian government to live up to the commitment they made to use that influence to get the assad regime to abide by the cessation of hostilities. [inaudible question] >> the un has kind of turned on the nuclear ... you think that us air drops, unilaterally is that something you would consider? >> at this point i don't

or the assad regime that claims to be so-called against terror are actually the all drop.ad regime, assad has been exerting a genocide of almost half a million against the sunnis. that method of dealing with terrorism. they allow radical islam to grow to legitimize the military dictatorship. and they don't want to see their alternative is also a form of fascisim that the turks are dealing with internally. the only solution to that is to find a third pathway in the middle east. until we have leadership out of the white house, state department and d.o.d. that's started to work on that third pathway. yopathway. tunisia has found a third path way. lou: you describe a mission that if not impossible, sounds like one of the most difficult ever for the west. it raises the question whether it is a mission that we should be on, that is the united states and europe. can you give us your thought on that as we wrap up? >> the mission without america's presence will befilled filled by the russias of the world, the rawns, saucedy arain yaz. isolationism will allow them to grow. and they

we have also looked very closely at the assad regime. statistics.n source about 100,000 fighters on the side of the assad regime have been killed. ofse are the types assumptions that four years ago i think many people assumed would lead to the positions that would set a political transition but it has not. what we need to is a.m. and forcible cessation of hostilities. >> which do not have been without pressure we are not going to get and i think everyone including you understands the circular situation we are in. that is not going to happen. we met with secretary kerry in munich. therer purdue and others felt the cessation issue was not real. it has not been real. see anything at present to that is going to change that dynamic. i look forward to questioning you further. i am going to go vote senator purdue and i hope i'll come back in time for you. senator markey is next and your now chairman. >> thank you. your testimony is always candid and to the point. i know you are the messenger. i am concerned about the 14 months now at the end of

about a pivotal moment when the president decided not to engage the assad regime. >> there was stilline and really even before that where the french and the british wanted us, the united states, to get more involved in iraq and syria, and we hesitated. i think that was problematic. that was a period where david petraeus and hillary clinton and some others were pushing the president to do more. i think the second thing was, it really did make our allies in the region question our commitment. and that is very problematic. because everyone has said, this can't just be a u.s. fight, this has to be a deep, deep alliance with the saudis, jordanians, with the turks, and when the u.s. says it's going to do something and then it hesitates, unfortunately it reinforces a narrative which rings true in the ears of some of our allies. >> do we have, have we lost credibility with our allies in trying to do something about the civil war? >> i don't think the way in which we have built the antiisil coalition as one example, the way we built the international support group for syria to work the politi

diplomats call on president obama to attack the regime of syrian president assad. this is "special report." >>> good evening, welcome to washington, i'm chris wallace in for bret baier. diplomacy isn't working, that's what more than 50 u.s. diplomats say, about president obama's syria policy. the extraordinary dissent filed by career state department officials reveals a stark internal divide over the president's handoff approach to the bloody civil war in syria that's killed more than 400,000 people. chief washington correspondent james rosen reports tonight on how the president is responding to this rebuke from the inside his own administration. >> with isis and syria high on the agenda for president obama's closed-door session with saudi arabia's deputy crown prince, the white house faced a quiet revolt at the state department. where 51 officials used the so-called dissent channel. product of the vietnam era, to warn president obama that his syria policy is not working and to urge him to hit the assad regime with air strikes. the status yoe in syria, said the dis

diplomats call on president obama to attack the regime of syrian president assad. this is "special report." >>> good evening, welcome to washington, i'm chris wallace in for bret baier. diplomacy isn't working, that's what more than 50 u.s. diplomats say, about president obama's syria policy. the extraordinary dissent filed by career state department officials reveals a stark internal divide over the president's handoff approach to the bloody civil war in syria that's killed more than 400,000 people. chief washington correspondent james rosen reports tonight on how the president is responding to this rebuke from the inside his own administration. >> with isis and syria high on the agenda for president obama's closed-door session with saudi arabia's deputy crown prince, the white house faced a quiet revolt at the state department. where 51 officials used the so-called dissent channel. product of the vietnam era, to warn president obama that his syria policy is not working and to urge him to hit the assad regime with air strikes. the status yoe in syria, said the dis

eye to foreign fighters making their way into syria because they were focused on toppling the assad regimere recently it has been allowing the u.s. in its campaign to bomb isis, as it beefed up its own security and operations against the kurds and isis supporters. >> so you have a situation in which there's tremendous frustration being expressed by americans and others that erdogan, the head of state of turkey for years now, is basically allowing a sort of lawless area on the border with syria, partly because he wants fighters to go to fight because he is a declared enemy, essentially, of assad. eventually that situation has been altered a bit. right? how much has this blowback of isis is now, okay, fine, you're now on our enemies list? >> essentially as you outlined over the course of turkey's foreign policy position of turkey, in the initial stages it was allowing foreign fighters to come to topple the assad regime. but as the rise of isis became more of a threat not only to turkey but countries in the region, they started lashing out against europe. the refugee crisis became a serious i

turkey has been trying to topple the assad regime.re was an incident last year where turkey shot down a russian fighter jet. however, turkey recently apologized to russia for that and there was a thawing of relations that made some believe that turkey and russia were going to work together on issues of counter terrorism in the region. turkey has had strained relations with israel. they just normalized them. in armenia there is this fallout over the term genocide. turkey doesn't consider it a genocide. turkey has had some problematic issues along its borders and beyond. >> thank you. >>> when we return, president obama is on his way to canada. we're going to get the white house reaction to the istanbul attack, next. i asked aut tresi. ♪ tresiba®eady ♪ tresiba® ia once-daily, long-acting insulin that lasts even longer than 24 hours. i want to trim my a1c. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ tresiba® provides powerful a1c reduction. works like your body's insin. when my schedule changes... i want sething that delivers. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ i can take tresi

and that is, you have to change the military momentum against the assad regime. capability. and what the russians have guaranteed by propping up assad this last year that assad or the regime will stay in power, the rebels will continue to fight and that's what the diplomats are seeing, that there is no cease-fire, no hope of a piece of cord unless this momentum against assad gets changed and it brings an end the killing.500,000 dead now, 11 million out of the 22 million population displaced from their homes, or million are refugees outside the country. the amount of impact is significant and wide isis? if you settle the asad regime, the syrian arabs that are in syria are all fighting the assad regime. ground force against isis and that is what we do not have right now. >> are we sure that though? because i look back to the rack and a lot of people think the vacuum that was created when we took another dictator out in that area is what ushered in the instability that created isis so there's this idea that when you remove somebody who's a bad guy in a region and is

dongcongressman, is there a strategy that would work. >> we want a political transition from the assad regimemake sure that they can choose a leader that the syrians like. three out of four syrians in a recent poll said they want a political transition but where is our political work? i mean we're a political transition. we are clearly sporting forces on the ground in syria. by the fact that we are taking military action in syria you would think we are trying to have a military overthrow of the assad regime. if you ask the administration they say we want a political transition. if you go to iraq we have a prime minister we like far better than prime minister malaki. he is trying to reform the government. there is a lot more we can do on the political front to help support him and make sure he can enact these changes. >> president obama said we are firing on all cylinders there. i know people in the service right now. you speak to them all the time. that does not square with what they tell me. do you think that is an honest statement, we are firing on all cylinders? >> we are firing on militar

treasury department said in december that isis is selling a great deal of oil to the assad regime. and secretary of state john kerry said in november that assad has cut his own deal with isis. they sell oil, he buys oil. they're symbiotic, not real enemies in this. how then can assad be a part of a coalition to defeat isis when his government seems to be assisting the group? >> okay. dr. shaaban, there's a question. >> i really didn't understand the question. i'm sorry. >> can you repeat it again, please? >> if you can repeat it, please. >> the question is -- >> thank you. >> say it loudly. >> the u.s. treasury department said in december that isis is selling a great deal of oil to the assad regime. secretary of state john kerry said in november that assad has cut his own deal with isis. they sell oil, he buys oil. they are symbiotic, not real enemies in this. how then can assad be a part of a coalition to defeat isis when his government seems to be assisting the group? >> thank you. >> well, the answer is in the question. there is no question that the syrian government never buys o

and over the last several months, the assad regime has been making progress.e has been getting very direct air support from moscow and has been carrying out air strikes, offensives, shellings, bombings and killing large numbers of civilians. and the united states, according to these dissidents who signed this memo is turning a blind eye. the u.s. is not pressuring assad, is not pressuring moscow. that those two are not abiding by a cease-fire and these people in the state department wanted to plant a flag and say an atrocity is under way and unless military pressure is put on assad, that the assad government backed with moscow will continue to take territory and continue to kill civilians while the u.s. remains quite narrowly focused on the fight against isis. >> richard, you have this regime, this dictatorship, that continues almost on a daily basis to kill civilians when they're supposedly a cease-fire that the world kind of turned a page on once that was reported, and yet every single day because of that dictatorship people are dying. >> reporter: so there'

state department officials want the obama administration want to carry out strikes against the assad regime. they signed an internal memo claiming a leadership in syria is the only way to defeat isis. the memo circulated through the state department's dissent channel where officials can offer views without fear of reprisal. >>> a member of the british parliament has been murdered. 41-year-old jo cox shot and killed thursday outside a library as she was leaving a meeting near the town of leeds. cox was a rising star in the labour party. a 52-year-old suspect thomas mayer is in custody. mayer is a supporter of the alliance. a neo-nazi alliance in the u.s. no motive has been established. >>> time for an early start on your money. a good start to markets. asi asian markets closed higher. the dow snapping a five-day losing streak yesterday. it gained 93 points. s&p and nasdaq closed higher. >>> smith & wesson is selling more guns than ever. it reported more than a 22% increase in firearm sales. these latest numbers include sales through the end of april. it is typical for gun manufacturers to se

where russia has had a forceful intervention to bolster the assad regime. president assad now says that his goal is to take back every square inch of his territory. do you believe that the solution in syria is that the assad regime should take back and govern every square inch of syria? >> translator: i believe that today the problem in syria boils down to the fight against terrorism. but it's not all of it. at the core of this conflict there are contradictions inside the syrian society. and president assad is aware of that. and the question is not about gaining control over various territories. although it is very important. the question is to ensure trust on sides of all the society, confidence on the side of various parts of the society to each other. and based on this confidence and trust, to shape inefficient management, and administration that would be trusted by the whole population of the country. and there is no other way but the way of political negotiations. we have been calling upon that on many occasions. president assad keeps mentioning it, as

russia's military has been backing the assad regime. a senior u.s.efense official said the strikes raised serious concerns about russia's intentions in syria. >> cia director offering new take on strength of isis that appears to contradict the president. beting itsold n two ars.at tori. theyced itnto theulerlandoinsing aterhattedrly 15 urs.naitchnell iw iyldk andbtywo oft llle. o >> thanks, jonathan. wildfires in the west this morning spreading too fast. possible record heat in the forecast. the fire near santa barbara has burned at least 1400 acres. the windswept plains overnight force add major california freeway to close. people in nearly 400 homes and businesses were asked to evacuate and the dog head fire outside albuquerque new mexico has destroyed more than 20 buildings. some areas there could see temperatures as high as 120 degrees by monday. firefighters are struggling to contain both fires. >>> critics question if disney world knew of problems with alligators at its resort. ahead visitors share stories of past encounters with gators as,, >>

treasury department said in december that isis is selling a great deal of oil to the assad regime. secretary of state john kerry said in november that aside has cut his idea with isis. they sell oil, he buys oil. enemies int real this. how then can a sad be a part of the coalition to defeat isis with his government seems to be assisting the group? there is no question that the syrian government never buys oil ourselves or a to the terrace. or sells oil to the terrorists. we are listening to two broadcaster views. my question is, you just said came from thece turkish borders. but the other example we just heard, mn man who was killed and said syria coverage extensively buddha,overnment's own who was discussed as a big terrorist leader by your own media. he was inside a syrian president he was like going to thousand 11 by the syrian government. did you not know about his past and why was he in prison then released based on that? that means that did not all government turkey. all come through turkey. if you're insinuating that we could possibly know that somebody is going to become a

and into many instances we are seeing the assad regime prevent that from happening.r cases, it's just violence on the ground that's preventing that from happening. so we continue to be deeply concerned about it.i know levers of the united nations security council had an opportunity last week to discuss what could be done to try to address the situation and obviously the united states is an active participant in those discussions. it continues to be true as has been the case over the last several years that the united states is the largest bilateral donor of humanitarian assistance to try to provide for the humanitarian needs of the syrian population. and the united states will continue to offer that support. >> just one more question. going back to the issue of the no press conference emerging in ... [inaudible question] ... was at a problem, you have the un delegation that they would be willing to hold a press conference because of them or what was the issue? >> the issue is just a matter of scheduling. between the private engagements that the president and prime mi

operandi where the turks opposed isis but not aggressively because they that other issues, the assad regime in syria, and the pkk in turkey's southeast, and turkey didn't want another problem. it also had no easy way to get after isis without getting after all of the jihaddist groups fighting against the assad regime, some of whom turkey supports. isis used turkey as a supply zone, as a transit for people, recruits coming in, people going back to carry out terror attacks in europe and elsewhere, and didn't want the turks cracking down too hard. now, for some reason -- it may be that isis is under more pressure, including syria from u.s. forces operating out of turkey that isis decided the gloves are off, we're going after the most iconic symbol of turkish power, the istanbul airport. >> i would have they not claimed responsibility in. >> that's an interesting question. this is the fourth major isis attack in turkey over the past year. and none of the cases isis declared responsibility but everybody knows it's isis. i think they probably still hope that in some way turkey will not relentless

state department officials want the obama administration to carry out military strikes against the assad regimesigned internal memo claiming a leadership change in syria is the only way to defeat isis. the memo circulated through the state department's dissent channel where officials can offer alternative views without fear of reprisal. >>> time for an early start on your money. good start to markets around the world. asian stocks closed higher. u.s. stock futures barely moving. the dow snapped a five-day losing streak yesterday with a gain of 93 points. s&p and nasdaq closed higher. smith & wesson selling more guns than ever before. a 22% increase in firearm sales. this includes sales through the end of april. it is typical for gun manufacturers to see a spike in sales after mass shootings. consumers fear tighter gun laws will limit access to firearms. after the shooting in san bernardino in december, smith & wesson's quarterly sales jumped 61%. >>> president obama in orlando. comforting victims as we learn new information this morning about the gunman and what he was doing during the massacre

military involvement on the groupd despite saying the assad regime in syria must go.pens while the pentagon just con if i weres russian fighter jet bombed rebels in southern syria. that prompted this reaction yesterday from ash carter, who told reporters an attack on forces, no members of the terrorist network, isis. let's bring in general jack dean. he's also a fox news analyst and someone we go to for all things related to isis and military involvement. i want to ask ask you fist and foremost, mistorically, how have we dealt with russia in the past and how are we toling with them now on the heels of the news that russia b fighter jets have bombed some forces in southern syria. not necessarily targeting isis members at all. >> sure. for almost 50 years, we dealt with russia and the soviet ewan yn. democratic or republican president. didn't back down with them. what we've done since russia is attempting to reemerge and become a world power and the leerd of russia somewhat of a bully and a thug. >> saw that with ukraine and others. >> likes to throw his weight around.

in this case for the use of air strikes against the assad regime.ars of brutal war it the evident and unquestionable, adding the status quo in syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism related challenges. white house spokesperson told reporters aboard air force one just moments ago she wasn't sure if president obama himself had read this cable. the state department confirmed it has received this dissent. the 12th of its kind across the last two and a half years but declined to get in any specifics about the content saying they are classified. the whole idea of the dissent channel, said state department spokesperson john kirby, is that it provides an opportunity for employees to express their views and concerns over policy in a candid and private manner. the secretary, as welling a the department, institutionally values and respects that confidentiality. i won't be violating it today, regardless of the fact that the message found its way into the public domain. russia president vladimi

the russians are a threat to the assad regime. een intervening from their point of view to keep assad in power and to collaborate with the iranians and even supporting iranian-backed terrorist offices such as hezbollah. the russians are playing a major game of chess inside syria. they are succeeding at moment in terms of keeping the assad regime in power. that is undermining the efforts of the united states and the allyies to back some of the more moderate rebel groups in syria. all the next question, in the president took the advice of the 51 state department officials and order military action against assad, calling for targeted military strategics in syria, how can the united states effectively fight isis as its core with russia and iran moving? how do necessity necessity -- how do they cut off the head of the snake? >> it is a difficult situation. vladimir putin has outmaneuvered president obama to some extent that is what happens when the obama administration does not have any clear strategy with regard to syria. vladimir puti

force in 2013 or israel's continued use of strikes inside of syria, this is something that the assad regimeknown to respond to. >> warner: all of this comes as a february cease-fire has largely dissolved. it did let humanitarian aid reach some syrian communities, but others remain cut off by assad loyalists. and peace talks backed by secretary of state kerry and the russians have shown no progress. an august 1 deadline for a political transition won't be met. plans now are only to resume talks then. >> woodruff: and margaret joins me now. margaret, how unusual is this to have so many diplomats weigh in like this? >> you put your finger on it, judy, it's unprecedented of anyone in the history of the state department. usually these are solo letters, never have you seen 51. that shows the depth of the frustration. i talked to former ambassador of syria robert ford who as you know two years ago resigned publicly because he felt he couldn't support the policy, that the president wasn't supporting the the opposition sufficiently. he said when you're in the state department, you must follow the co

there is a symbiotic between the assad regime and daesh. it is through his recounted that adesh has been able to grow -- daesh has been able to grow. we cannot talk about it recently, we understand -- we have not talked about it recently, we understand the future can include a solid, -- thed, as a work through process, we recognize that some institutions of government, this attorney forces, and some form of fashion have to stay intact. the cannot be a complete collapse. government were to fall, what would happen to steering christians -- syrian christians? i will not engage in hypotheticals about a situation we are trying to avoid. it is not about the fall of the regime. we are trying to get to a transitional process of government that preserves even some of the existing and prospective going forward. at the end of the process, gets a to a government that is put in place by the same people with their voices being heard that does not include al-assad. >> one in the united states not to target al-assad. >> i have not seen that comment. toere

military strikes against bashar al assad's regime.appears there is mutiny on foggy bottom, that is the region of d.c. where the state department sits. let's bring in peter barnes. in fact, you've been monitoring the state department report today, is it still going on right now about the memo? >> reporter: yes. it is, liz. john kirby, state department spokesman, is briefing reporters right now on the memo, not saying much other than to say that it exists. and what is so surprising about it is 51 state department officials, members of the diplomatic corps, sending this memo through a back channel to the entire department and the secretary of state john kerry. kerry was in denmark today, and reporters caught up with him, asked him about this memo which was highly critical of the u.s. and the obama administration's strategy in syria. and the state, the secretary of state saying he had not read it yet, but he is not dismissing its. listen. >> i think it's an important statement, and i respect the process very, very much. people or have a c

what is the best way for the united states in dealing with both with the assad regime doing in termsit killed and isis. obviously we know that the assad regime is killing more innocent people than isis ever has >>well, we know that may be. i'm not sure i have such statistics. but i don't think anybody that watched isis, for that matter, doubts for a minute that the situation reversed they wouldn't be slaughtering civilians all over the place and regime controlled areas and we've seen some examples of that already. so there are no good guys, generally, in all of this. and we have to recognize that. we have to work with the russians. we have to continue to try diplomacy. to do everything we can to rally the world to provide humanitarian aid. it would be nice if the united states were willing to take its share of syrian refugees rather than expecting turkey, jordan, and lebanon to do it all. >> all right. former u.s. ambassador to syria. thank you very much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >>> next we turn our focus to fa lucia. iraq's military is working to gain full control from the is

russia's military has been backing the assad regime. a center u.s. defense official says the strikes raised serious concerns about russia's intentions in syria. >> cia director brennan is offering a new take on the strength of isis that appears to contradict the president. brennan told the senate intelligence committee yesterday that u.s. efforts "have not reduced the group's terrorism capabili capability," and he cautioned there could be new attacks here at home. >> the group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the west including in refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel. >> president obama recently touted gains in the fight. brennan also said the agency has been unable to find any isis link with the orlando gunman, omar mateen. >>> we're following breaking news from the front lines of the fight against isis. iraq's military says its forces have retaken a cue government complex in the center of fallujah. iraqi troops have been battling for nearly four weeks for control of the city west

a slew of-- slew of other extremist groups, the other parts of the syrian opposition, and the assad regime that are all determined to fight this thing out. so that regardless much what is kind of leverage the russians may have now that the turks have reconciled with them or what the united states is or is not doing. ultimately the political actors are those people on the ground, the isis and other extremist as long with the assad regime, hezbollah, the who are erm didded to protect their equities in syria. so it strikes me that as much as this change in turkey's posture and the prospects that tur de is going to become much more directly involved member of the antiisis coalition are good things, but it may not necessarily make significant material difference in what is happening in sya. at least for the last, for the next six months. >> intriguing possibilities, i agree. but i also go back to what steven said before which is at the end of the day the turks are most concerned long-term about the role of the kurds both inside their society as well as in syria and iraq. those trends are direct

between a symbiotic th the assad regime and daesh. it is through his recounted that daesh has been able to grow. we have not talked about it weently, but while understand the future of syria cannot include assad, as a work through the process for a traditional governing body we , recognize that some institutions of government, this force, and some form of fashion have to stay intact. >> if the syrian government was to fall, what would happen? >> i will not engage in hypotheticals about the situation that we are trying to avoid. it is not about the fall of the regime. a are trying to get to traditional process of governance that preserves some of the existing infrastructure going forward. at the end of the process, gets us to a government that is put in place by the syrian people with their voices being heard that does not include al-assad. >> one in the united states not to target al-assad. >> i have not seen that comment. >> how would you react? >> there is not any u.s. efforts to target al-assad. that is not part of the calculus. i h

iraqis stabilize liberated communities and promote inclusive governments so .sil cannot return the assad regime has been the principal culprit in violating the cessation of hostilities. --al n on this roof usra, al qaeda's affiliate in syria, continue to terrorize syrians, but it has saved lives and allowed the delivery of some life-saving aid to syrians in desk or it need. as difficult as it is, we will continue to push for a political process that can end the civil war that can result in a .ransition away from assad beyond syria and iraq, isil is also losing ground in libya. government are going after isil in their strongholds and will continue to assist the new libyan government as it works to secure its country. home, if we at really want to help law enforcement protect americans , thehomegrown extremists kind of tragedies that have occurred at san bernadino and have occurred, there is a meaningful way to do that. we have to make it harder for people who want to kill americans to get their hands on weapons of war to let them kill dozens of innocence. it is absolutely true -- we cannot preve

i think that means we should direct the force of the united states military against the assad regime and i think a lot of questions are raised about that. how do you do that without harming innocent civilians? secondly, i am not sure what legal authority the president would rely on to do something like that. and three it seems like a slippery slope. one round of missile strikes and spend a month trying to negotiate again? or do we ramp up the military engagement and at what point does that stop? it is hard to imagine where that stops or that that somehow stops short of a war against a sovereign nation that is being backed by russia and iran in a way that it unclear to me how exactly that is going to apply additional pressure against isil which is the extremist organization we are quite concerned about. >> leave it to the military in syria, there are proposals like the safe zone -- >> i guess this is the point. i am glad you say that. this, i think, is the point. the president is relying on his military advisadvisors. the president is relying on them for the good military advice he is

at this stage it was in their interest to go into syria and fight the assad regime. what we have seen with the rise of isis a lot turning their sights on turkey and going back and carrying out these attacks. it's important to emphasize in the last year and a half turkey has shifted its policy and allows u.s. airplanes to bomb syria and bomb iraq. it's shifting their policy when they realize this is not the smartest approach. >> the very airport that was attacked yesterday, although isis hasn't taken credit for it. we expect that isis was the funnel for so many isis fighters from coming around the u.s. and around the world go to istanbul airport and then cross the border and go to war with isis. >> this morning that airport has partially reopened following the suicide bombings that left at least 41 people dead, according to istanbul's governor's office. 239 more are reported and what the turkey's prime minister is calling an attack. three attackers arrived at the airport in a cab last night and then opened fire in and around the arrivals area of the main terminal usin

and the assad regime has been the principal culprit in violating the cessation of hostilities.l nusra, which is al qaeda's affiliate in syria, they also continue to terrorize syrians. but as fragile and incomplete as the cessation is, it has saved lives, and it it has allowed the delivery life-savid the syrians who are in desperate need. and as difficult as it is, we will continue to push for a political process that can end the civil war and result in a transition away from assad. beyond syrian and iraq, isil's also losing ground in libya. forces of the libyan unity government are going after isil in their stronghold in sert and will continue to assist the new libyan government as it works to secure its country. lastly, here at home, if we really want to help law enforcement protect americans from home-grown extremists, the kind of tragedies that occurred at san bernardino and that now have occurred in orlando, there is a meaningful way to do that. we have to make it harder for people who want to kill americans to get their hands on weapons of war that let them kill dozens of

and the assad regime has been the principle culprit in violating the cessation of hostilities. isil and al-nusra, which is al qaeda's affiliate in syria, also continue to terrorize syrians. but as fragile and incomplete as the cessation is, it has saved lives and it has allowed the delivery of some life-saving aid the syrians who are in desperate need. and as difficult as it is, we will continue to push for a political process that can end the civil war and result in a transition away from assad. beyond syrian and iraq, isil's also losing ground in libya. forces of the libyan unity government are going after isil in their stronghold in sert and will continue to assist the new libyan government as it works to secure its country. lastly, here at home, if we really want to help law enforcement protect americans from home-grown extremists, the kind of tragedies that occurred at san bernardino and that now have occurred in orlando, there is a meaningful way to do that. we have to make it harder for people who want to kill americans to get their hands on weapons of war that let them

treasury department said in december that isis is of oil a great deal to the assad regime. ary of state john kerry said in november that assad has his own deal with isis. he buys oil, they sell oil. they are symbiotic. how can a side defeat isis when his government seems to be assisting the group? dr. shaaban: there is no question that the syrian government never buys oil or sends oil to the terrorists. the syrian army, these syrian people are engaged and we have hundreds of thousands of martyrs against of this terrorism. unchallengedmany views expressed in the media. you do not have to believe all of them. thank you. ahmad: next. it is past time she asked. we are listening to you discuss your views. as media we did not boycott the for the said -- free syrian government. you just said that all terrorists -- and i am quoting you, all terrorists -- came from the turkish border, inside syria. heard,mples we have just one who was killed inside syria, covered extensively by the media, he wased discussed as a big terrorist leader by your own media. prisoninside a syrian and he was

the cable urges air strikes against the assad regime to force the syrian government into accepting a cease-fire. as many as half a million people have died in the syrian civil war. a section of the cable quoted in "the new york times" reads, "the moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in syria after five years of brutal war is evident and unquestionable." >>> overseas, the first member of the british parliament to be killed in a quarter century is being remembered. jo cox was a lawmaker who campaigned for britain to stay in the european union. the critical vote is scheduled for next week. investigators are trying to determine whether it played a role in her death. jonathan vigliotti with our report. >> reporter: police tackled the gunman identified as 52-year-old tommy maher and retrieved the gun. jo cox's purse and shoes were left in the street. british media quoted witnesses that claim maher rushed cox shouting "britain first." other witnesses said cox got caught in a fit between maher and another man. >> i saw him pulling the begin out. then he went live

calls for targeted military strikes against the assad regime.of diplomacy cannot noteed if damascus is pressured. secretary of state john kerry has advocated a more aggressive approach to syria and president obama has thus far resisted

russian policy objectives with respect to the assad regime are 180 degrees the opposite of the stated american policy objectives. the russian military intervention in syria is to prop up assad whereas american support for the opposition is intended to overthrow assad. now, nominally both the united states and russia are opposed to isis, but the priority is completely different. that's really our top priority for the russians. going after isis is an incidental aspect of keeping assad in power, so i -- i really am very worried about what the russians have done here. there was every risk that american advisers were with those opposition forces that the russians bombed, and it's just so typical of the way the russians operate. is it undertaking military action where americans could be in jeopardy? they blame us for not keeping us updated. this is something i think the russians think they can do and get away with. >> speaking of getting away with, president obama's strategy appears not to have worked for the longest period of time. now you've got 51 u.s. diplomats within the department of

treasury department said in december that isis is selling a great deal of oil to the assad regime. d secretary of state john kerry said in november that assad has cut his own deal with isis. they sell oil, he buys oil. they're symbiotic, not real enemies in this. how then can assad be a part of a coalition to defeat isis when his government seems to be assisting the group? >> ok. >> i really didn't understand the question. i'm sorry. >> can you repeat it again, please? >> if you can repeat it, please. >> the question is -- >> thank you. >> say it loudly. >> the u.s. treasury department said in december that isis is selling a great deal of oil to the assad regime. secretary of state john kerry said in november that assad has cut his own deal with isis. they sell oil, he buys oil. they are symbiotic, not real enemies in this. how then can assad be a part of a coalition to defeat isis when his government seems to be assisting the group? >> thank you. >> thank you. >> well, the answer is in the question. there is no question that the syrian government never buys oil or sells oil to the

it should be, although it -- it doesn't appear to be, to the assad regime, anyway, readily apparent that't need any more reason to try to find a political, peaceful way forward here. i mean, when you look at the millions of people who have left the country and those that are starving, the ones who have been gassed and barrel bombed, the expansion of groups like da'esh and al nusra in syria. just taking ten steps back from this issue and just looking at it in general, it's hard for any reasonable person to try to make the case that you need more leverage than the current status quo. >> the question goes more to, less the -- less what is the horror of the status question. the question goes more to whether your diplomacy to achieve a political solution would be more effective if the assad government which clearly is unmoved by the current status quo felt in any way threatened by the possible use of military force. that's really the question. >> again, without speculating as to other potential options here, none of which, as the president has said, are great options -- it's puzzling to see.