Former Secretary of State Colin Powell came out against the U.S. military involvement in the conflict in Syria on Wednesday. The fighting has escalated drastically over the past few weeks and, according to a United Nations official, can now be considered a civil war.
"I don't know that there is much the United States can do except work with the international community," Powell tolds CBS's This Morning on Wednesday. "I don't think we can do this ... I don't sense any energy to do that."
Powell's comments come as a number of lawmakers, most notably Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have called for U.S. military involvement in the region.
According to CNN, U.N. Peacekeeping Chief Herve Ladsous said on Tuesday that the conflict is now a civil war, and Reuters reports that almost 2,000 refugees have fled to Turkey over the past 48 hours. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has blamed the violence in Syria on President Bashar al-Assad. The White House has called on Assad to step down and allow a democratic election in the country.
Powell agreed with Ladsous, saying, "It is really a civil war" in Syria and there is little the U.S. can do to stop the violence.
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