John Kerry actually said...

Certainly Bashar al-Assad has lost all governing legitimacy except what he achieves at the barrel of a gun or a tank.

I think it is important to scale up support for the political development of the Syrian opposition to help them improve their internal cohes...

Based on two strategic prerogatives--one, avoiding chaos while, two, ensuring that the fundamental aspirations of the Syrian people are met-...

I am also extremely pessimistic that Bashar al-Assad will make any meaningful concessions under any circumstances.