White House on Syria: "Assad Is Losing Control" The bombing in Syria today "makes clear that Assad is losing control" and that the "window is closing" to find a peaceful solution to the violence, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. Carney said that the administration does not "believe that violence is the answer" to the escalating crisis, but stopped short of condemning the attack on top officials of the Assad regime. "It is precisely because of the ongoing campaign by President Assad against his own people that we are seeing a situation that is getting worse and worse," Carney told reporters at the daily briefing. That is why it is so important for the international community to come together around a plan that produces the transition - the political transition that is essential if Syria is to have a brighter future. Carney could not confirm whether Assad was a target of the bombing or say where he is currently located and he did not have any information about who may have been behind the attack. "We're still gathering details about the incident," he said. All I can tell you is that it reflects the fact that the situation is getting more violent every day in Syria. And it only proves the point that we've been making, that the window is closing. We need to take action in a unified way to help bring about the transition that the Syrian people so deserve. Carney confirmed that President Obama called Russian President Putin today to discuss the situation in Syria, but did not have a full readout for the press yet. He confirmed that the U.S. is working with its partners at the UN to try to "bring about the consensus that we believe is absolutely necessary." One concern expressed by those who have resisted supporting a transition that would see Assad remove himself from power is that it would - that that outcome would cause the situation to spiral out of control or cause chaos or more violence. And our argument has always been that the situation as it exists with Assad in power is what will result in greater violence and greater chaos. And that is being borne out, unfortunately," Carney said.