No longer facing the imminent threat of a U.S. military strike, the Assad regime is dragging its feet on relinquishing its chemical weapons -- leaving U.S. officials scrambling to pressure the Syrian government to honor the terms of last year's deal.
The Obama administration acknowledged on Thursday that the regime has shipped out less than 5 percent of its chemical arms. The country is weeks behind schedule, and may miss next week's deadline to ship all its chemical agents out of the country.
This, despite President Obama declaring in his State of the Union address that Syria's chemical weapons "are being eliminated" thanks to American diplomacy.
The administration still hopes diplomacy will prevail. It also may have few other options, with little appetite in Congress for military intervention.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Friday that officials are working with partners to "keep up the pressure" on the regime. "They have an obligation here. They have committed to doing this," Carney said.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with his Russian counterpart earlier in the week about the concerns, and asked for Moscow's help.
"This is not rocket science here. They're dragging their feet," she said. "We need them to pick up those feet and run with this and move forward in moving the chemical weapons stockpile to the port."
Assad sidelined talk of a military strike last September, when he publicly agreed to give up his chemical weapons.
Asked if military force is still an option, Psaki said "you never take a tool off the table."Read the rest of the story HERE and view a related video below:
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