Former US President Barack Obama collaborated with Russia to not collapse Assad's regime suddenly for the sake of Israel's security in 2015. Obama wanted to continue the civil war in Syria, Assad preferred to stay. The main goal of chaos survival strategy is of course not surprising: US interests and Israel's safety!
During the period of former US President Barack Obama, Andrew Exum, the deputy undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense (Pentagon), announced that in 2015 the US was in talks with Russia, worried that Bashar al-Assad regime would fall suddenly.
Exum, who attended a session in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, made important statements regarding the US's view of Syria during Obama's term.
Explaining that the US feared the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Exum stated that this fear increased to a high level especially in 2015. At the time, the idea of cooperating with Russia on Syria was not very supportive in my ministry, but we did our best when it came to directing the President. This process began in the summer of 2015, and my office (in the Pentagon) started the coordination of the institutions for the scenario we consider destructive success in Syria.
Exum noted that at that time, Obama was concerned that "the sudden fall of the Assad regime would not only cause uncertainty in Syria, but also jeopardize Israel's security".
With that in mind, he said that Obama instructed Russia to be contacted so that the Assad regime would not be overthrown. At the end of the day, he said that Assad was not overthrown.
Exum said that the US had two main goals in Syria. In the end, Russia and its partners won this war. We prioritized our own interests, to ensure the security of Israel and defeat the DAESH, he commented.
At the time, the idea of cooperating with Russia on Syria was not very supportive in my ministry, but we did our best when it came to directing the President. This process began in the summer of 2015, and my office (in the Pentagon) started the coordination of the institutions for the scenario we consider destructive success in Syria.