how has the world failed syria? >> the security council has failed syria in so many ways. a year ago the security council promised a viable peace process humanitarian access, sources for work and refugees victims, and also protection off the civilian population. millions more have been displaced. a million homes have been erased. access to the victims has not become better. we have lost contact with millions of people that are now in hard to reach areas. and there is no viable political process. so, yes, the security council failed to implement his own resolutions. you know the inner workings well of the united nations, how it gathers resources, how it makes consensus and deploys in the field. before? >> i have seen it once before, to build up to the iraq war in 2003. against the security council paralysed and we ended up with the iraq war and the iraq aftermath. that still is haunting us in iraq. now, we have a bigger catastrophe which is syria. the syria war is bigger than any other displacement disaster of people. it's the biggest refugee disaster, probably since the 19

i do believe that he is still in syria. i believe he's being held in syria. but who is holding him, we just really have any idea. >> no. i mean, there's no - there's no indication that he's being held by, you know, alexander yesyn or any other extremist group. that being said, we can't say anything because we just simply don't know. we haven't been contacted. >> the state department said in 2013, that it believed that the syrian government had him in custody, what do you belief is the likelyhood of that. >> well, if they have that information, they have our email and phone number. my name is mum, and, you know, we strongly encourage them to share that with us, you know, if they believe that, and there's a basis, without clearance, we believe we were vetted by got as austin's parents to that information. we'd love to see that. >> we haven't seen evidence to show that. since then that hasn't been something that's repeated. >> no. and we have had direct communication from the syrian government saying that he is not in any of their official detention facilities.

will there be anything left in syria? >> of course syria is still here. it's not the first kind of crisis that you are facing. >> but nothing like this. >> during the history you had many crisis damascus and aleppo has been destroyed many times but it's about the population. the syrian population are determined to survival and protect their country. and to rebuild it. >> how much is part of the power that every population has. and the syrian people proved they have strong potential. anyway we don't have any other option. what option do we have. whether we pay high price or less price. well what options do we have but to defend our country, but to fight terrorism. we don't have any. >> rose: i ask the question because many asks what is the cost to syria what it's going through. and how would you put the pieces back together? whenever there is finally an end to this how will you put the pieces back together and who will put the pieces back together. >> there's misconception in the west that what's happening in syria is a civil war. this is where you ask tha

will there be anything left in syria? president assad: of course. syria is still here. it is that the first crisis we have faced. president assad: is about the syrian population. they are determined to survive and protect their country and rebuild it. the syrian people proved -- we don't have any other options. what other options do we have? pay a price. but to -- human only options we have are to defend our country and fight terrorism. charlie: i asked the question because many wonder what the cost is for syria. how will you put the pieces back together? how will he put the pieces back together when there is an end to this and who will do it? president assad: there is a misconception in the west that what is happening is a civil war. what is happening in syria is not civil war. when you have some war, -- civil war, you would have clear lines separated between different cities. that is not what we have. we have terrorist infiltrated areas and people are suffering from the fight. and from the terrorism of the terrorists. you don't have division in the society. you don't

now, that, of course could have implications for syria because remember, iran is syria's closest ally. iran has troops on the ground in syria syria, so a nuclear deal here could be more imports than just a nuclear file. >> james bays live from lausanne. >>> more iraqi malisha members are heading back to tikrit. military commanders say the offensive to reclaim the rest of "the sun"ni city is briefly on hold until reinforcements arrive. al jazeera has obtained exclusive footedage from the front lines of the battle. jane araaf reports from baghdad. >> five kilometers northeast of tikrit, this counter terrorism units is pinned down by sniper fire. is ill specializes in snippers and explosives and here, it's used to deadly effect. this battle last week is an education of why taking to tikrit is slow going. the counter terrorism battalion is an elite unit u.s.-trained. they have been deployed from nearby camp spiker to clear the road for advancing soldiers and malinc. a men. in just a few minutes, they lost five of their men on the battlefield. seven were injured. this is a side of the war

and it isn't just limited to syria and iraq. jordan and other neighboring countries have been forced to bear the brunt of a massive influx of refugees fleeing the e t)ur'pé nd that's tested the limits of their already strained capabilities. last congress, the ranking member ted deutch and i convened four hearings on the humanitarian situation in syria. one we were pleased to join with congressman smith, and congresswoman bass' subcommittee in an effort to continue to shine a light on this aspect of the conflict that gets ignored. when we held our first subcommittee hearing on the situation in syria 80,000 syrians had been killed, and 1.5 million people had been displaced. less than two years later, those numbers have swelled, over ó[ ehwkexz(4e=t7f÷6 200,000 have been killed. more than 3 millione1 have fled. and now more than half of syria's population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance. the u.s. has been the largest provider of humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis, providing much needed aid to syria, ira

certainly within syria they're worse off than outside of syria. and they are new transitionally deprived, but they aren't to the point of starvation. >> okay. and that leads into my other question. when you're going in and trying to get access into syria, i mean, you've got to worry about the assad government forces. and then you've got to worry about, you know freedom fighters and, you know, isis and all those other ones. you know, it just seems like one of the things i've seen on these other meetings that we've had in particular, i think it was afghan last year when we were talking to dr. shaw, he said that afghan was allocated or appropriated a billion dollars in foreign aid through usaid. but they couldn't account for $300 million. and as you're going from, you know taking our aid -- and i would feel a lot better if it was branded. that's the american taxpayers' money, and i agree with these other people that if we're sending our money over there well, i think they need to know where it's coming from. and i know that's an issue in itself becau

syria's conflict ending the fifth year. the united nations estimate more than 220,000 syrians have been killed and half the population displaced. relief agencies in the pacific island nation of vanuatu are struggling to assess the damage. power has been out. communications down making it difficult to get information from the outlying islands. at least eight people have been killed. >> the u.n. human rights council will meet to hear from its experts about the situations in syria, north korea and myanmar. the council has been criticized for a lack of teeth. james way -- james bays reports it has made strides. >> reporter: the human rights situation barely seemed grimmer, from the war in ukraine, to syria, a conflict that claimed 300,000 lives. there's so many crimes against the innocent. the body is supposed to deal with it all. the u.n. human rights council has been criticized. it's toothless, only with the power of blaming those responsible and is unwieldy, with 47 members. the fact it's so large means some of the country o

of syria. >>> i.s.i.l. targets in iraq and syria in the last 48 hours at least three of the strikes targeted northeast syria that's where i.s.i.l. fighters have kidnapped 250 assyrian christians. fighting for the survival of their communities. they are demanding weapons to defend themselves. zeina khodr reports from beirut. >> sut of these refugees are from iraq, some from syria. all of them are asirrian christians. they gathered in beirut to speak in one voice. their message was clear. this minority community in the middle east believes its future is threatened. >> this is a conspiracy to put the indigenous people of the region the asirrians from their historical home land. they are going to fight back until there is left blood we won't surrender. >> there is a heightened sense of concern after hundreds of asirrian christian families were displaced, in the northern city of hasaqi. some of them managed to escape to tell their story. >> there was a massacre. they came to our villages at night. they burned pe

now are you talking about the refugees outside of syria or the ones within syria that you work with? because reading my notes here it says there have a lot of nutritionally deprived people there. what is the dichotomy of the difference there? visibly? is it distinctive? >> yeah. thank you very much, congressman yo ho. >> in syria they are worse off than inside of syria. >> and when you are trying to get access into syria, are you running -- you have to worry about the assad government forces and then you have to worry about freedom fighters and isis and all of the other ones. just seems like one of the things i've seen on these other meetings that we've had, in particular, i think it was afghan last year when we were talking to dr. shaw, he said that afghan was allocated or appropriated a billion in foreign aid through usaid but they can't account for $300 million and as you are going through taking our aid and i would feel better if it was branded. that is the american taxpayer's money and i agree with these other people if we are sending our money over there, i think they need to k

what does a postwar syria look like mr. landis? >> i don't think we see a postwar syria yet. but it's going to be fragmented. i don't think assad is strong enough to reconstitute syria and powers wouldn't allow him in a way. the united states and the west is crushing assad with sanctions but they're also bombing the two other large forces in syria i.s.i.s. and nusra the three emptiesentities that could take over syria are being broken. >> the discourse in syria is being dominated by options i would like to see renegotiation of america's relationship with the middle east and if that's a marshall plan, just inside syria but in the greater region where you have majority of population that's under 30 i think that's the kind of strategic investment that should be made. >> anna therese day and josh landis, appreciate your time on the week ahead. >> thank you. >> we invite you to stay with al jazeera throughout the coverage on syria. we'll bring you the latest an in depth analysis on the situation there as we approach the four year mark of the war. before we go let's take a look at

now after some 300,000 people have died in syria? so they have been dragging their feet non-stop. >> if there was no veto among the five permanent members, then we wouldn't be in this situation now, would we? >> if. >> if. >> no seriously the gridlock between russia and the united states have been responsible for many of the crises that have gone on in the middle east, and at the end of the day they just lectured us in geneva about human rights and responsibility for affairs, and so on and so forth, but they have been responsible for the deadlock in ukraine, the deadlock in syria, and the eventual destruction of both countries because they won't walk together on important issues like that. they have been dragging their feet. what they advise people to do in other places they are not doing themselves. and they are saying that assad is part of the problem, and hence part of the solution. imagine if you would say at one point, osama bin laden is part of the problem, hence, osama bin laden is part of the solution. hitler is part of the p

this is something you wrote in an op-ed in syria. you wrote while opposition gains have precluded bashar al-assad shooting his way to victory, the opposition is too weak to bring the conflict to an end beyond exasperating the human toll, along with civil war it increases the likelihood that state institutions will fragment, that weapons of mass destruction will be used or fall into the wrong hands, that extremeists that extremists such as fundamentalists salafi islamists and al qaeda will make head way and that ethnic and sectarian bloodletting will go on after the assad regime false. >> what do you think of those words today. >> knows words are the reflection that i felt with our policy not doing enough earlier and that circumstances we've seen more often today that become more and more desperate and extreme circumstances have been created as a result. that as producing extremist groups such as isil. >> yes. >> i was hoping that american restraint at that time would led lead to more diplomacy assistance from russia, iran, perhaps to

but we are operating in syria. and people risk their lives every day to do that. >> how terrifying is it for them? >> i think it's extremely terrifying. i was speaking a staff member recently, and he was talking about the attacks on our schools. we have seen a rising number of attacks on our schools that we support in northern syria. they face a daily struggle and do an amazing job doing that. there are people working inside syria, a all across the country that we forget about. syrians themselves who take massive personal risks every day to get help to people. and i think that gets loss when we talk about isis or other groups. >> absolutely. thank you for talking to us. >>> charges have been laid against two people linked to the paris attacks of january this year. prosecutors say they have been in contact with the government. the two men have been charged with taking part in a terrorist group with intent to commit crime. >>> oscar pistorius's lawyers have failed to stop an appeal in south africa's supreme court tha

if we see a deal, could that pave the way for solution when it comes to syria? >> yes, but i would think only indirectly. the appearance insist that no grand bargain is being worked out. kerry was telling the saudis and others in the gulf last week, trying to reassure them that nuclear deal with iran would not come at the expense of america's relations with saudis and other allies in the arab world. the question is how much can you believe what the americans say in public, because they're actions often contradict that. i think the reality is that a deal of iran on the nuclear issue and the sanctions would radically change regional mitt it will dynamics and create a whole new world for iran to have normal relations with the u.s., with europe, with people all across the region. there will be massive trading opportunities and investments oil sales industrial work. there would be huge, huge incentives to have good relations with ran and everybody around it. one of the repercussion of that would probably cause the iranians to try to play a role in winding down the wa

communities outside syria. another - and we forget about these - probably over 3.5 million kids are living in the communities in surrounding countries, that are having to try to take care of the syrian kids. that means they are suffering hardships also. and then we have over 2.5 million kids in iraq now. and these numbers are growing very rapidly. >> just across the board the biggest problem, at least numerically, is with the kids who have remained inside syria many of whom are displaced many of whom are facing war constantly... as you said, 5.6 million. >> yes. and very hard to reach. we have to struggle to reach them when they are in the government controlled areas. >> and the government has not been that helpful at times. >> not sometimes no, that's true. and so we work with the government to try to get them to be as helpful as they can. and of course it's not u.n.i.c.e.f. kids or young u.n.i.c.e.f. people in t-shirts going out and doing this but we work through partners to do this. local n.g.o.s, the red cr

>>> syria's war enters the fifth year. we look at how the conflict wrecked lives, broke homes and left a nation divided. hello, i'm martine dennis you are with al jazeera live from doha. also to come. twin blasts from a church in lahore. 14 kill and more wounded. their homes stood here. the island nation of vanuatu tries to recover from the deadly category 5 cyclone, and... >> phil lavelle - it's 2015 - not the future. apparently this is what the future will look like. noisy, isn't it. find out more later in the programme. >>> when a group of children were arrested for scrawling anti-government graffiti on a wall in syria, no one could have predicted what would follow. the protest which began is now in its fifth year. the united nations says more than 220,000 syrians have been killed. more than 7.5 million people have been forced from their homes, but have stayed within the country. 4.5 million are thought to be trapped in areas that are besieged or hard to reach. in all, more than 12 million syrians are in need of help in

we have always believed there has to be a political solution for syria. what has taken prominence at the moment is isis, daesh at this stage. are we trying to chew gum and walk at the same time? this has to be decided by the international community. we believe there has to be a political solution that brings sort of the moderate forces and the regime to the table because there is this bigger problem. that has not been clarified at the moment. coalition, arab muslim western, so to speak, can only do so much in syria against isis. but at the end of the day it has to be syrians themselves especially when you want to reach heartland of isis. >> when we come back with his majesty king abdullah ii, i will ask him what he wants to call the radical islamists or radical extremists that president obama doesn't want to call islam, when we come back. i am totally blind. i lost my sight in afghanistan but it doesn't hold me back. i go through periods where it's hard to sleep at night and stay awake during the day. non-24 is a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up

the world is failing syria. that's the dammitting assessment by a coalition of aid organizations as the conflict enters it's fifth year. they say the u.n. security council has proven itself to be incapable of ending a crisis which is only getting worse. 2014 was the deadliest year of the war, at least 76,000 people were killed everyall 220,000 have died since the conflict began. some people think that number could be higher the number of children in need of aid rose bly a third last year, to 5.6 million, 80% of the population is living in poverty, it's estimated that 7.6 million people are displaced within syria while almost 4 million more have fled the country and are living in refugee camps james bays has more. >> four years ago no one could have imagined the scale of this tragedy. the figures are staggering. there's been no actual body count, but it is estimated as many as 300,000 syrians are dead. many have fled, 3.8 million are refugees. that figure the main contributor to the fact there are more displaced

the conflict in syria is now entering its fifth year. among the latest victims a group of people in rebel-held areas of douma. activists say as many as 20 people including children died in airstrikes on residential building in the town and you said damascus. dozens more have been reported killed and injured in the last days. that as the air force steps up attacks in that area. thousands of syrian children have been born in exile since that war broke out. many of them have only known life in a refugee camp. from jordan, we have a report. >> born a refugee only three months old the nine members of his family have been crammed into this rickety tent for a year and a half. his mother says finding diapers and medicine for her newborn is a struggle. he doesn't even ever clothes of his own. her neighbors were kind enough to give away their children's old ones. >> i wish he could have a better future. he is not being raised by his siblings. this one has nothing not even comfort. >> children make up half of the refugees. more than 90,000 are not

the cancer is in syria. but it seems to me every policy decision right now in the white house is driven by their desire to get a deal with iran and this effects how they are responding to the problem in syria. because they don't want to upset that apple cart because syria is alive with tehran. >> the intelligence community's moral is what at this point? big zero from -- >> it is terrible. >> i think people who have been on this issue and i hesitate to speak on their behalf but they are dedicated to the issue but they are frustrated that when the information has been presented in a very clear way, there has been a denial of the facts on the ground and that means you cannot tackle the problem. >> at the end of the day we are talking about unand under governed spaces. we are not contesting those spaces. it is going to require all instruments of stay graft jordanians have been a huge component of that next to israel or closest ally in the region. >> we ought to be advertising ourselves as the greatest nation on

our middle east regional editor has spent much of that time in syria. great to have you here for the moment. another dreadful staging post which is really what this is isn't it four years now, and a very damming indictment of the security council? >> yes, indeed. the problem is that it's like four years on and there is no insight, any hope that it's going to end any time soon. the figures and numbers mentioned in the report if you talk to syrians will tell you the numbers are higher when you're having 225 killed only 2014 76,000 killed 5 million children in need of help 1.5 million children outside of school. the members are really -- the numbers are shocking. what's more disappointing and frustrating, i was there last week talking to syrians there -- >> in turkey. >> no one listens to the news or cares about the security council any more. they have lost hope completely in the world and they are left to help each other. there is even money for aid is not coming in support for humanitarian is really limited. we have industry reports saying that the pledg

and over 5 million of them are inside syria. then other 2 million living in refugees camps are in host communities outside syria. another -- and we forget about these, probably over 3 1/2 million kids are living in communities in surrounding countries that are having to try to take care of the syrian kids that means their suffering hardships also. and then we have over two nab 1/2 million kids in iraq now and these numbers are growing very rapidly. >> is this the biggest problem with the kids at least numerically the kids inside syria, many displaced and facing war constants are standsly 5.6 million. >> yeah, and very hard to reach. we have to struggle to reach them which they are in the government rear view controlled area. >> and the government is not that helpful. >> not sometimes, no that's true. we work with the government to try to get to them to be as helpful as they can. and, of course, it's not uncief kids or young uncief people in t-shirts doing this, but we work through partners to do this. local ngos, the red crescen

syria's war enters its fifth year. how the conflict wrecked lives, broke homes and left a nation divided. twin blasts at a church in lahore. 10 killed many wounded. their homes stood mere. the island nation of vanuatu tried to recover from the deadly cyclone. and lewis hamilton with support from arnold schwarzenegger. >> when it comes to the new race - i'll be back. >> the defending champion starts with victory in australia. >>> march 15th, 2011. there was a civil war in libya between muammar gaddafi, and opposition groups. the world feared a nuclear disaster at the fukushima plant after the japanese tsunami, and tickets went on gaol for the olympics games. and the beginning of the syrian war. the government responded by cracking down on demonstrations. five protesters in deraa became the first victims. in july a group of army defectors turned their weapons against the government and announced the formation of the free syrian army. the next month hundreds of people were killed by government forces in the town of hama.

meanwhile, the conflict inside syria is now interesting its fifth year. a group of people in rebel held areas of douma abactivists saying as many as 20 people including children died in airstrikes on residential buildings just outside damascus. dozens more have been reported killed and injured in the last three days as the air force steps up attacks on that area. >> the united nations estimates at least 220,000 people have been killed in syria's war and the a very large number of people have had to flee their homes, many leaving the country altogether. we can show you now how the number of refugees that increased as that war has gone on. almost 4 million syrian refugees have fled the war up until this point. 1.5 million of them have gone to lebanon and al jazeera's zeina hodor joins us from the becca valley. lebanon has very much felt the strain from the in flux of refugees from syria. >> undoubtedly, one in every four people here is a syrian. 1.5 million syrian refugees live in this country. we are in one of the dozens of makeshift carp that is dot the v

failing syria. humanitarian groups say the international community has abandoned millions of refugees. >> our correspondent in eastern ukraine exphrorz the devastated airport. >> and the widow of a murdered russian agent tells us she's still searching for the truth. >> a damming report by 20 human rights groups says that the international community has failed syria. the situation for people there has not gotten better and numerous u.n. security counsel resolutions have not been implemented. >> more than 20,000 people and more than 11 million displaced the worst refugee crisis in the world. >> for this family home is now a refugee camp in jordan. they thought they would be here for just a few weeks but four years on they have no idea if they'll ever go home. it's attacks such as this one a few days ago that forced them to flee. civilians are being killed every day in syria and the war has already claimed more than 200 200,000 lives and destroyed the infrastructure. the country is on the brink of coll

and for sure, going deep inside syria. why we were able to get fairly easily get into derazor and the government that's on the east side of the country now that road is treacherous it's very very dangerous. >> reporter: but it's not just fighting that stops aid getting through. many of the governments and larger charities that supply smaller aid groups will not allow help to be sent to i.s.i.l. controlled areas. they fear it will be diverted to i.s.i.l. fighters. hand in hand is one group whose warehouse in syria behind at the mammoth needs of this country. set up at the beginning its founders thought it would be needed for just four or five months. >> just like really basically help. they needed bandages, they needed cotton or baby milk sometimes, they would ask for it. they were really basic needs. >> reporter: it is gone from providing cotton some bandages baby milk to what? >> to providing complete hospitals now. >> now hand in hand is preparing for next ten years. an alarming prospective not least because of the -- pr

people do not leave syria just because of the violence. they also leave because of the economic situation. we are in one of the main commercial districts in beirut. you just walk down the street and all you see are syrian restaurants, branches that used to be in damascus and aleppo and relocated here and businessmen opening shops here a lot of syrian workers now work in the shops either restaurants or shops that sell clothes, cafes and success story it's hard to say because at the end of the day people left their livelihoods behind and income and they have the skills and educate syrians who no longer can find jobs and accepting to work in jobs that they have more qualifications for this job. so there is a lot of misery this war has caused a lot of misery but if you talk to people here they are tired and just want it to end but as we know there is no meaningful peace process underway and people really have lost hope. >> live for us in beirut and thank you very much. and i.s.i.l. has accepted a pledge of allegiance from boko haram fighters i

it is essential for syria and the people of syria. it is a lot easier said than done. charlie: what a great country, ukraine, and e-work and ambassador to russia, so rich in cultural heritage. some people look at it today and see all kinds of violations. they see all of those issues. and they see a russia leader who they say is motivated by the collapse of the soviet union. although the driving force may not be to restore it but do something else. how far has he been willing to go in your judgment? bill: my years in russia have been a long exercise in humility about and in my powers of analysis. charlie: because he surprises you? bill: he is a tactician and he has shown that with the ukraine. the thing to remember about russia is he is playing over long-term a relatively weak strategic hand. russia is basically a one-dimensional economy. it had the potential to diversify. it has a smart and well population but it has not done that yet. corruption is a big problem, it is eating away at the rising middle class. demography is a huge challenge. the whole expanse of the ear

but actually expanded in other areas in southeastern syria. so now you're seeing this influx of foreign fighters, both on behalf of dash and interestingly enough foreign fighters fighting with the anti-isis forces, specifically the kurdish resistance forces. right there. and you're also seeing an influx -- a massive influx of foreign fighters on behalf of the iranny guards and their expeditionary forces in syria as well. >> you got a lot of foreigners and it's very compli -- complicated. as a syrian american, good idea, bad idea? >> completely combustible. it's a calderon that would lead to syria becoming a staging ground for international terror strikes. now, that being said, certainly the intent by the western fighters to go and fight on behalf of the kurdish forces against dash is noble, but as you also saw, the people -- when you talk to the people on the ground, they don't need more bodies. they don't need more fighters. they need more guns. they need better coordinated air strikes with the americans and the western-backed coalition fight

and syria and iraq and beyond syria and iraq. so these are two important things that originate in the 1990s, and they're relevant to the period today. after the iraq war, a second snapshot, husband to have call snapshot. -- husband to have call snapshot. you know, after the iraq war caused sunnis to feel that they have lost power. so they are minority, arab sunnis are minority in iraq, and they suddenly felt that they no longer are in control. they felt that the americans were conspiring with the shias and with the kurds and even with iran to take over politics. there are indications that these were, there are basis basically, for these kind of conspiratorial thinking. because, you know, the first elections that happened after the, you know the americans hand over power to the iraqis was dominated by shia and kurds. and sunnis boycotted the elections and lost control. so there was like, a kind of sense that they're losing power and you start of to have a movement dedicated to the restoration of sunni domination in iraq. now, that

and clarissa ward went to syria to meet them. >> reporter: when the bombs rain down on syria, these are the brave volunteers who run in. nicknamed "the white helmet," they claw and saw their way through the rubble to save those buried beneath. here a two-week-old baby trapped under a flattened house for 16 hours is pulled out alive. at a training session in a neighboring country, the volunteers learned how to break through concrete and put out fires. 26-year-old alla from aleppo is one of more than 2,000 syrians who have joined. "everyone loves us in syria," he said. "we deal with all the different groups." do you feel proud of your work? "of course," he said "very." it is dangerous work. the regime has dropped roughly 1,000 bombs on aleppo in the last year alone. most of them were crudely made barrel bombs packed with explosives and shrapnel. often they'll circle back to drop a second bomb targeting rescue workers. alla told us his friend was killed this way. "he was just 200 yards ahead of us. then suddenly a second barrel bomb landed on his car." what was your feeling in that moment?

syria is close to southern europe and syria is not afghanistan. the five countries around syria, all of them are friendly to the united states and all of them are paying a tremendous price. >> woodruff: steve heydemann what's your assessment? >> i tend to share the view we are locked into a war of attrition. i think we do have opportunities to try to shorten this conflict through much more proactive diplomatic efforts, in particular on the part of the united states, and i think we have to recognize that in the absence of those records we are likely to see the conflict unfold for many, many years to come. it is very important as secretary kerry indicate that he felt it is a priority to reignite a diplomatic process to try and bring the syrian conflict to negotiated settlement. the question is whether the u.s. has a strategy to act on the priority that secretary kerry expressed. so far we haven't seen that but it is a very important priority. >> let me ask each one of you starting with you ambassador ford. what would an outside timmatic intervention