Ben Rhodes Talks to David Remnick About America's Role in Syria

A humanitarian or a neoconservative might make a case that the United States should have done more in Syria to save lives and influence the future of the Middle East. But President Obama, who is deeply wary of repeating the protracted war in Iraq, has largely kept our country on the sidelines. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national-security advisor for strategic communications, joins David Remnick in a discussion about the Obama Administration’s view of American power: it’s not unlimited, and staying out of some conflicts is necessary to conserve our strength.