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White House Press Secretary Jay Carney:  “Without getting into assessments of our intelligence capabilities, I would simply say that we are aware of the fact that al Qaeda and other extremists are seeking to take advantage of the situation created by Assad’s brutal assault on the opposition, and to try to pretend — contrary to their history, their rhetoric, their reason for being — that they are on the side of greater freedom and democracy for the people of the region — in this case, of Syria.

It’s not clear right now the extent to which al Qaeda extremists are working with the Syrian opposition, and obviously that’s something that we assess, as was the case in Libya and elsewhere, as we go on.  Our position, independent of that — well, related to but not solely dependent on that, is that now is not the time to further militarize the situation in Syria.  We are working, rather, with our allies, through the “Friends of Syria,” to isolate and pressure Assad, and to try to get him to realize that his days are numbered and to cease the brutality that he’s been waging against his own people.”

Source: White House website