GETTY Obama's decision not bomb Syria drew a great deal of condemnation

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Speaking to President Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg after receiving the ‘Profile in Courage’ award last week, Mr Obama defended his commitment not to strike Syria despite some critics suggesting the decision marks one of his greatest foreign policy failures. The former President said: “I actually think that the issue that required the most political courage was the decision not to bomb Syria after the chemical weapons use had been publicised and rather to negotiate them removing chemical weapons from Syria.”

The reason it was hard was because, as President, what you discover is that you generally get praised for taking military action, and you're often criticised for not doing so Barack Obama

He famously issued a ‘red line’ statement to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in 2012, warning him against the use of chemical weapons. Speaking at the time, Mr Obama said: “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 utilised. That would change my calculus; that would change my equation.” The 55-year-old told Schossberg: “Now, we know subsequently that some [chemical weapons] remained, so it was an imperfect solution.

Barack Obama in pictures Thu, November 24, 2016 Barack Obama, President of the United States in pictures Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 130 U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama serve Thanksgiving dinner to residents of AFRH in Washington

“But what we also know is that 99 per cent of huge chemical weapons stockpiled were removed without us having to fire a shot. “The reason it was hard was because, as President, what you discover is that you generally get praised for taking military action, and you're often criticised for not doing so.

REUTERS Last month, Trump fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airbase

“And it wasn't a slam dunk, but I thought that it made sense for a variety of reasons for us to see if we could actually try to eliminate the prospect of large-scale chemical weapons use rather than the political expedience of a one-time shot.” Mr Obama’s comments contrast heavily with those of his successor Donald Trump, who dropped 59 Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian airbase after Assad allegedly carried out a chemical weapons attack against his own people. The strike was supported by countries including Australia, Britain, Turkey, Italy, France, Israel, Japan and Saudi Arabia, with the UK Government saying it was “an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack”.

Trump launches military strike against Syria Fri, April 7, 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump launched 59 Tomahawk missiles against Syria in response to its chemical attack on its own civilians Play slideshow Getty/Reuters 1 of 19 Trump ordered a massive military strike against a Syria

Speaking shortly after the strike, President Trump said: “It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. “There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council.

GETTY The two Presidents dealt with Syria very differently