Ex-CENTCOM Chief On Syria’s Collapse: ‘Not Sure It’s Ultimately Going To Be Good News For Syria’

Former CENTCOM commander retired General Frank McKenzie said during an interview over the weekend that the collapse of the Syrian government may not be a good thing for the people of the country, despite Western media cheering the downfall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

McKenzie made the remarks during a Sunday interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz on “This Week” when responding to the country’s stunning collapse after terrorists launched an aggressive offensive from the north just a little over a week ago.

“Over the last 48 hours, it has been a remarkable chain of events,” he said. “You know, bad news for a lot of people, less clear who the good news is going to be for.”

He said that there was probably less danger for U.S. forces in the region since the collapse of the country put Russia and Iran on their heels.

“One of the best equipped, best trained, and most capable forces in all of Syria today is actually our Kurdish partners east of the Euphrates River,” he said. “They’ll be able to defend themselves. I’m confident of that.”

He said that Russia, Iran, and Lebanese Hezbollah were the big losers from Assad being forced out of power.

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“For all three of these entities, this is bad news because now they had a partner, not necessarily a good and capable partner, but a partner, and he is gone,” he said. “He’s left the stage, so they’re going to have to negotiate with who comes in. So it’s bad news for them.”

“It’s less obvious who it’s good news for,” he continued. “I’m not sure it’s ultimately going to be good news for the people of Syria. You know, we could have an Islamic State arise there, which will have profound negative implications across the region. That is possible. There are other possibilities as well, and I think in the next 48, 72, 96 hours, this will begin to become clearer to us.”

McKenzie noted that the leader of the terrorist group has a $10 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government because “he has a significant track record.”

“Certainly he could advance new ideas coming in,” he said. “It’s been my experience, though, that typically they don’t.”

WATCH:

“The Iranians, Lebanese Hezbollah and, in fact, the Russians are all on their back heels now as a result of what has just happened in Syria,” former CENTCOM commander Frank McKenzie says after Bashar al-Assad’s government appears to fall to rebels. https://t.co/OKdyQuTGle pic.twitter.com/rrrjwuoByR

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 8, 2024