It appears that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is stronger than ever. Has U.S. policy in the region failed?

"He still does not have legitimacy to establish control over the country," said Deputy national security adviser for strategic communication for President Barack Obama Ben Rhodes.



On the chemical weapons agreement, "he is giving up the most important weapon in his arsenal," said Rhodes.

But Assad is still slaughtering thousands of innocent people, which Rhodes said is "unacceptable."

"We are working to strengthen the opposition, and working to forge a political resolution that involves him giving up power," said Rhodes.

"Ultimately, there is no military solution. We don't want a policy that just involves picking a side in a civil war to prevail in that civil war," said Rhodes.

"We want a policy that aims to bring that civil war to an end in a way that has Assad leaving power," he says.