Syria’s future remains unclear after Islamist rebels toppled the Assad regime, took control of Damascus and drove the Syrian dictator out of the country.
Foreign policy experts and officials alike reacted to the news Sunday, speculating about what could happen for the Middle East and the U.S. forces staying there.
“Who knows what’s next?” asked former Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland.
McFarland joined “Fox & Friends Weekend” to discuss the unrest. Like others, she suggested the change paints an uncertain picture.
NETANYAHU HAS ‘HISTORIC’ FALL OF BASHAR ASSAD IN SYRIA, CREDIT ISRAELI ATTACKS ON HEZBOLLAH, IRAN
Syrian opposition fighters remove a Syrian government flag from an official building in Salamiyah, east of Hama, Syria, Saturday, December 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
“Bashar Assad was weak and incompetent, and he was supported in governance in Syria by Iran and Russia, by Russian forces, by Russian military equipment, by, in a sense, Iran’s money, but they are now busy… Iran is seized preoccupied with what Israel has done to Iran and Hezbollah and Russia is preoccupied with Ukraine and a faltering economy, so those two guys supporting Assad, they’re not, they were. also support him, she said.
“But the (several) rebel groups came together, and they saw a moment of opportunity, and entered Syria… and President Trump It is so right to say: ‘let it happen. This is not our fight.” I’m just sorry we have 900 American troops in that country, because who knows? Are they targets? Are they potential hostages? What will their role be? We don’t know.”
SYRIAN DICTATOR BASHAR ASSAD FLEES INTO EXILE AS ISLAMIC REBELS CONQUEST LAND
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also weighed in Sunday, sending a message of caution and concern.
“We have to realize it there are no good guys in this. These rebels are affiliated with Al Qaeda. We know that Iran is going to lose its supply lines to Hezbollah. We know that Russia will lose access to a port in warm weather, and we must ensure that we support Israel,” she said.
Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman warned that the development poses a “very complex challenge” to US national security that the Trump administration faces when the president-elect takes office next month.
“The concern I think we would have going forward is the potential for a power vacuum here. We’ve seen this in Iraq and Libya and terrorists are taking advantage of that, and the concern I think we have is that potential terrorists are flocking to Syria now trying to take advantage of that,” he explained.
“We also have a real challenge there because state actors like Russia and Iran, previously allied with Syria, were allied with Syria. Don’t forget that Russia has a naval base in Tartus. They will not stand aside to solve this problem with us. I also faced real challenges with them, so getting any kind of international consensus on the way forward is also a big challenge.”
ISLAMIC REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN GUARD REGIMES AND GIVE US NEW MIDDLE EAST HEADACHES
President-elect Donald Trump also weighed in shortly after the news broke, posting on Truth Social.
“Assad is gone,” he wrote. “He fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was no longer interested in protecting him. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria. because of Ukraine, where nearly 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started and could go on forever.
“Russia and Iran are currently in a weakened state, one because of Ukraine and a poor economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success,” he continued. “Similarly, Zelensky and Ukraine are eager to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There must be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations must begin.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
