Barbara A. Leaf: “Yes, I fully support Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks and strongly condemn these attacks, no…”

Let me be frank with you. After more than a decade of conflict, prospects remain limited for advancing a political solution worthy of Syrians who bravely demanded change more than 10 years ago.

Israel is a critical partner to the United States and the two are united by shared values and strategic interests.

The President's vision for a collaborative partnership with the countries of the Middle East comes in the wider context of a growing global challenge to our values of open societies and open economies.

I want to be clear on what we have not done in Syria and what we will not do, which is support efforts to normalize or rehabilitate Bashar Al-Assad in any way, lift sanctions on the regime, or change our position opposing reconstruction in…