Brennan said Russian military forces have bolstered Syrian President Bashar al - Assad and are carrying out attacks against the U.S.-backed forces trying to unseat him . He said Assad is in a stronger position now than he was in June 2015 and that the agreed cessation of violence is " holding by a thread . " TORTURE life.injure.injurycausedbyviolentevents Brennan said individuals within the CIA have been held accountable for problems in the agency 's former detention and interrogation program set up after Sept. 11 . He said he could elaborate in a classified setting .