James Clapper actually said...

Yes, sir. That's a little bit far removed from where I sit now.

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.