Carlos Barria/Reuters
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that President Obama was "certainly pleased" with his administration's policy on Syria, while simultaneously acknowledging that the country now poses a "heightened risk" to America and its interests.
"We've seen terrible violence in Syria, it's an awful humanitarian situation, and it's a genuine human tragedy. And it's a dangerous place, and it's a place that poses a heightened risk to the United States and to our allies and interests around the world," Earnest said.
Earnest, who was asked by Yahoo's Olivier Knox about The Daily Beast's reporting, argued that the president's Syria policy had "advanced the national security interests" of the U.S., placing the blame squarely on the Assad regime.
"There's no denying that what has happened in Syria has changed millions of lives -- and not for the better. And that's a testament to the failed political leadership of Bashar al-Assad, it's a testament to the way the political chaos in that country has propagated so much violence," Earnest said at Monday's White House press briefing.
The Daily Beast reported Friday that senior White House official Ben Rhodes allegedly told Syrian-American activists that he was "not proud" of the administration's policy on Syria.
"I can't speak to that conversation—I wasn't there," Earnest said Monday.
In the midst of the Syrian civil war, ISIS emerged in parts of Syria and Iraq. Over the course of Obama's term, nearly half a million Syrians have died during this conflict.
—Tim Mak