White House defends US response to humanitarian crisis in Syria

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Wednesday defended the U.S. response to the humanitarian crisis affecting the Syrian people. During a briefing, Carney was told that there was a bipartisan call in the U.S. Congress urging President Barack Obama to expedite delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, including the Syrian Opposition Council. The United States is the single largest bilateral donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, Carney said in his response. "In coordination with our international humanitarian partners, we are supporting and complementing the generous efforts of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, whose governments and communities are hosting refugees fleeing the violence in Syria," Carney said. The United States is providing 210 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to help millions of people inside Syria as well as to assist nearly 670,000 Syrians who have fled beyond that country's borders, he said. The American people are funding the provision of life-saving food, medical care, blankets and essential winter supplies, which are reaching children, women and men in all 14 governorates inside Syria as well as refugees in the neighboring countries, he added. "And you know, let us be clear," Carney said. "The responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Syria lies with Bashar al-Assad and his regime. Every day the regime's hold on power weakens, territory slips from its grasp, and the opposition becomes more capable and confident. Syrians are taking back their dignity, and the United States will continue to lead international efforts to assist the Syrian people and to provide the kind of humanitarian aid that we have thus far."