happened in those days, the question is what can happen going forward to have a strategy that's really going to work. >> isis has rapidly grown in strength and numbers since the start of the civil war in neighboring syria. something kerry acknowledged, though he rejected the idea that america's failure to intervene militarily in syria helped spark the crisis in iraq. kerry had pushed for air strikes on syria, but president obama ultimately decided against action. >> the reason that the decision the to strike syria didn't happen was because we ultimately came up with a better solution after the president made his decision to strike. >> on chemical weapons, but that hasn't -- >> but the purpose of the strike was to send a message to assad, don't use chemical weapons. not a strike that was calculated to end the regime or get involved in the war directly. it was to end the use of chemical weapons.