--- title: President Obama Says He Feels 'Responsible' for Syria description: President Obama discussed his feelings on the ongoing crisis in Aleppo canonical: https://time.com/4605309/president-obama-syria-responsible-right-approach/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-16T20:50:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:56:52.881Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Says He Feels 'Responsible' for Carnage in Syria og:description: Obama also said he believes the U.S. took "the right approach, given what we realistically could get done" og:url: https://time.com/4605309/president-obama-syria-responsible-right-approach/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7c4aec8067ff557/6988b34ca988ca07f56ba796/obama_syria.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama in his last news conference of the year at the White House, Dec. 16, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Says He Feels 'Responsible' for Carnage in Syria twitter:description: Obama also said he believes the U.S. took "the right approach, given what we realistically could get done" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7c4aec8067ff557/6988b34ca988ca07f56ba796/obama_syria.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Says He Feels 'Responsible' for Carnage in Syria > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2226b365-b94c-4f27-aac0-da02d150509a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama Gives Last Presser Of 2016 [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Gives Last Presser Of 2016](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Vy5JR1rr.m3u8) (4:21)  _Published 2016-12-16. President Obama spoke during his last press conference at the White House in 2016. He said that the issue of Russian hacking the election should not be partisan._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 16, 2016 8:50 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 16, 2016 8:50 PM UTC [President Obama](http://time.com/4605260/president-obama-russia-hacking-warn-press-conference/) said Friday that he feels responsible for the ongoing crisis in [Aleppo](http://time.com/4604591/syria-aleppo-evacuation-resumes/), where carnage has left the [Syrian](http://time.com/4604591/syria-aleppo-evacuation-resumes/) city in shambles. “I always feel responsible,” Obama said at his final press conference of the year. “Because of my office, because I’m president of the United States. I feel responsible. There’s not a moment during the course of this presidency where I haven’t felt some sort of responsibility.” President Obama and White House officials have placed a great deal of blame on [Russia](http://time.com/4604557/japan-russia-economic-trade-territorial-g7/) and Iran as attacks have continued in Syria, which is in the midst of a multi-year civil war. The president on Friday also defended his administration’s course of action in Syria, saying that the U.S. weighed all of the options on the table without having to send war-weary Americans off to battle. “I understand the impulse to want to do something, but ultimately I’ve had to think about what we can sustain, what is realistic,” he said. The president said he’s always thought about “what’s best for America” when making decisions. “I continue to believe it was the right approach, given what we realistically could get done.” President Obama said going forward he will help President-elect Trump with any information he may need when it comes to Syria, but until the inauguration it will ultimately be up to him. ## Transcript Good afternoon. This is the most wonderful press conference of the year. [ LAUGH ] I've got a list of who's been naughty and nice, to call on. But, let me first make a couple of quick points, and then I'll take your question. For years, we've worked to stop the civil war in Syria, and alleviate human suffering It is one of the hardest issue that I faced as president, the world as we speak, united and four the savage assault of the russian and the Iranian allies on the city of elope. We have seen a deliberate seen. Innocent civilians. We've seen relentless targeting of humanitarian workers and medical personnel. Entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and dust. There are continuing reports of civilians being executed. These are all horrific violations of international law. Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone, with the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran. And this blood and these atrocities are on their hands. We all know what needs to happen. There needs to be an impartial international observer force in Aleppo. They can help coordinate an orderly evacuation through safe corridors. What we've simply said is the facts, which are that based on uniform intelligence assessments, the Russians were responsible for hacking the DNC. And that as a consequence it is important for us to review all elements of that and make sure that we are preventing that kind of interference through cyber attacks in the future. My hope is that the president elect Is going to similarly be concerned with making sure that we don't have potential foreign influence in our election process. I don't think any American wants that. And that shouldn't be a source of an argument. I haven't shared, previously, private conversations I've had with the President- Elect. I will say that they have been Cordial and in some cases have involved me making some pretty specific suggestions about how to ensure that regardless of our obvious deep disagreements about policy Maybe I can transmit some thoughts about maintaining the effectiveness, integrity, cohesion of the office, a various democratic institutions. I've said before I could be prouder Secretary Clinton for her outstanding service. Think she's worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and I don't think she was treated fairly during the election. I think the coverage of her and the issues was troubling. Mike, I always feel responsible. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I Felt responsible when kids were being shot by snipers, I felt responsible when millions of people had been displaced. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I feel responsible for murder and slaughter that's taken place in South Sudan that's not being reported on. Partly because there's not as much social media being generated from there. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] There are places around the world where horrible things are happening, and because of my office, because I'm President of the United States, I feel responsible. I ask myself every single day is there something I could do that would save lives and make a difference? 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