John Kerry actually said...

"We cannot appear to be feckless or impotent or ineffective in the face of this kind of use of force by anybody against their own people."

"It would, for instance, be a great mistake to allow the emerging leadership of Syria to conclude that al-Qaeda had done more to help them prevail than did the United States."

"Most observers, most people analyzing the situation and seeing increasing defections, increasing violence, increasing capacity by the opposition, as well as other indicators, draw the conclusion that ..."

"A negotiated political transition remains Syria's best chance to avoid a further descent into chaos."