Experts warn Syrian rebel victory poses “extremely complex” national security threat: “Who knows what will happen next?”

Syria’s future remains unclear after Islamist rebels overthrew Assad’s regime, seized control of Damascus and ousted the Syrian dictator.

Foreign policy experts and officials reacted to the news on Sunday, speculating on what might be in store for the Middle Eastern country and the U.S. troops stationed there.

“Who knows what’s going to happen next?” asked former deputy national security adviser KT McFarland.

MacFarlane joined “Fox & Friends Weekend” to discuss the riots. Like others, she thinks the change paints an uncertain picture.

Netanyahu praises Syria’s “historic” fall of Bashar Assad, thanks to Israel’s attack on Iran’s Hezbollah

“[Bashar Assad] He is weak and incompetent, he is supported in his governance of Syria by Iran and Russia, Russian troops, Russian military equipment, Iranian money in a sense, but they are now preoccupied…Iran is preoccupied because of Israel’s involvement in Iran, Hezbollah and What Russia is doing is primarily because of Ukraine and the faltering economy, so those two people who are supporting Assad, they’re not, they’re supporting him,” she said.

“but [multiple] The rebel groups came together, they saw an opportunity, they moved into Syria… President Trump was very right when he said, “Make it work.” This is not our fight. I’m just sorry that we have 900 U.S. troops in that country, because who knows? Are they targets? Are they potential hostages? What role will they play? We don’t know.

Islamist rebels conquer Syria, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad flees

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also weighed in Sunday, offering a message of caution and concern.

“We must realize There are no good people here. The rebels have ties to Al Qaeda. We know Iran will lose supply lines to Hezbollah. We know Russia is losing access to a warm-weather port and we need to make sure we support Israel,” she said.

Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman warned that the development posed a “broad and complex challenge” to U.S. national security that the Trump administration will face when the president-elect takes office next month.

“I think what we have to worry about in the future is the potential for a power vacuum here. We’ve seen this in Iraq and Libya, where terrorists have taken advantage of this, and I think what we’re concerned about is that potential terrorists may be flocking to Syria now seeking to Take advantage of this,” he explains.

“We also face real challenges there because state actors like Russia and Iran were previously aligned with Syria. Remember, Russia has a naval base in Tartus. They are not going to solve this problem on our side. We have real challenges that they face as well, so getting some kind of international consensus on a way forward is also a major challenge.

Syria’s Islamist rebels were caught off guard by Assad, Putin and the Iranian regime, creating new headaches for us in the Middle East

Shortly after the news broke, President-elect Donald Trump also weighed in on Truth Social.

“Assad is gone,” he wrote. “He fled his country. His protector, Russia, the Russia led by Vladimir Putin, is no longer interested in protecting him. Russia had no reason to be there in the first place. They have lost on Syria All Interest Because of Ukraine, where nearly 600,000 Russian soldiers have been injured or killed, this war should never have started and may have lasted forever.

“Russia and Iran are currently in a weakened state, one because of Ukraine and the bad economy, and the other because of Israel and its battle victories,” he continued. “Similarly, Zelensky and Ukraine want to reach a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations begin.”

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