Sputnik- Retired General Jim Jones, the first national security adviser to former US president Barack Obama, has fiercely criticized the president�s actions on Syria, calling it a �colossal mistake� to draw a �red line.�

The former top security counsel to�Obama said during�an interview with�CNN that the former president failed to�live up�to his threats to�Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, which resulted in "loss of �confidence" in "a very important part of�the world."
He was referring to�Obama's famous statement that using chemical weapons would be a "red line" Assad must not cross.


"We have been very clear to�the Assad regime, but�also to�other players on�the ground, that a red line for�us is, we start seeing a whole bunch of�chemical weapons moving around�or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation," Obama said back in�2012. However, the US president later backed away from�his words.


"I didn't set a red line. The world set a red line when governments representing 98% of�the world's population said the use of�chemical weapons is abhorrent and passed a treaty forbidding their use even when countries are engaged in�war," he said one year later.


In 2013, chemical gas was used near�Aleppo. Both the Syrian officials and the opposition militants have repeatedly blamed each other for�the attack.


Jones is believed to�be one of�four contenders for�the newly-vacant position of�national security advisor to�Obama's successor, President Donald Trump.


In an interview regarding his former role, Jones said the position needs a "strategic thinker."


"[It has] got to�be someone who understands that the coordination, the strategic coordination of�the inner agency� someone who can resist and cause the [National Security Council] to�resist getting involved in�the tactical operations of�our efforts around�the world," Jones said.


Jones denied any recent contacts with�the White House, but�said he would like�to offer advice to "the person that does take the job, because it's so very important."