President Barack Obama said in his final press conference of the year that he feels “responsible” for the bloodshed in Syria, and that his administration “went through every option” to try and limit the violence there.

“I always feel responsible,” the president said in response to a question about whether he felt a “moral responsibility for the carnage” in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, after failing to intervene in the Syrian civil war early on.

“I felt responsible when kids were being shot by snipers, when millions of people were being displaced,” he said. “I feel responsible for murder and slaughter that’s taking place in south Sudan that’s not being reported on … there are places around the world where horrible things are happening. And because of my office, I feel responsible.”

“I ask myself every day, ‘Is there something I could do that would make a difference?'” Obama said. “That’s a starting point. There’s not a moment during the course of this presidency where I haven’t felt some responsibility.”

The president then explained that he and his advisors spent “days and weeks” worth of time meeting about Syria and trying to find a way to ease the suffering and end the civil war.

 

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