Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel sidestepped Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin's question about today's Wall Street Journal report alleging the U.S. has reached out to Islamists inside Syria Wednesday in a Pentagon press conference.
Griffin asked Hagel if the American overtures to extremists are a tacit acknowledgment Islamists have gained the upper hand in the Syrian civil war.
Hagel demurred in his response, offering a rather banal explanation (even by Hagel standards) of Syrian diplomacy all the while avoiding the crux of Griffin's question:
JENNIFER GRIFFIN: Mr. secretary, the Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is now reaching out to some of the islamist groups inside Syria. Is this an acknowledgment that Al Qaeda is getting the upper hand and there is concern if you don't reach out to these groups you won't have any influence in Syria first can you comment on that, both of you actually?
CHUCK HAGEL: Well, that's not my area that I deal with, the diplomatic track every day on this. I would just say that if, in fact, there's going to be a diplomatic resolution, if that is the responsible approach, and we are taking that as I noted, as you all know, and the January Geneva II meeting is on track to occur, if this is all going to come to some kind of a diplomatic solution, then all parties involved are going to have to be represented in some way. I'll leave that up to Secretary Kerry and the administration to sort that out. But I think if that is the goal, that's the objective, to try to contain this, then I think General Dempsey's comments about regional issue is exactly right. Then this can be achieved by just narrow strips of interest in this, but again I'll leave that up to Secretary Kerry.