James Clapper actually said...

President Assad, he said, will not step down or stop the killing, short of a coup.

Clapper provides a blunt assessment of the situation in Syria, indicating that Assad will only leave power through a coup.

02/15/2012

More James Clapper Quotes

I think they generally have concerns about whether it will or not.

Syria appears destined for a perpetual state of a stalemate in which neither the regime nor the opposition can prevail.

looking back over my now more than half a century in intelligence, I have not experienced a time when we have been beset by more crises and ...

They can and do, but I have to say that that does not necessarily extend down to the level of detail.