U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday that additional options still remain on the table for the U.S. military alongside diplomacy effort, but unilateral actions not a favorable effective solution.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (L) talks with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey during a hearing to the House Armed Services Committee on recent developments in Syria in Washington D.C., the United States, April 19, 2012. Panetta said on Thursday that additional options still remain on the table for the U.S. military alongside diplomacy effort, but unilateral actions not a favorable effective solution. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
There is "no silver bullet" that can effectively solve all the "enormously complex" problems in Syria, said the Pentagon chief in a briefing to the House Armed Services Committee.

Panetta said that the diplomacy effort with the international community is the only clear path to confront the current situation in Syria. But he also stressed that the department continues to review and plan for "a range of additional measures" if U.S. President Barack Obama to make further "necessary steps."

Acknowledging the situation in Syria differs from the one in Libya, Panetta noted the complex problems in Syria cannot all be solved through unilateral actions of the United States.

He once again echoed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments that the possibility that outside military intervention will make a volatile situation even worse.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet