President Joe Biden's remarks on the overthrow of the Syrian government, which he called a "fundamental act of justice" served to capture the "uncertainty" of the situation as it continues to unfold, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Gen. Wesley Clark told Newsmax on Sunday.
"It is a very uncertain situation," the retired four-star general said on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda." "Lebanon has reinforced its forces on the Syrian border. Israel has seized a security zone on the south side of Syria. And the new Syrian leadership under this HTS [Syrian terrorist organization] faction says they will respect everybody."
Biden, he added, is "putting the most optimistic phrase on this."
"He's taking credit for the policies that the administration has followed with respect to protecting Israel, putting pressure on Iran, and there's no doubt this is a major blow to Iran," said Clark. "What he didn't talk about was Turkey and whether Turkey has a hand in this. If so, what is that hand, and what's the status of the Russian bases?"
Clark added that he assumes, even though it's not been made public, that Turkey "had a major role" in the uprising.
"But the president has very clearly laid out that this is a time of opportunity for the people of Syria, and I think that's that's fundamental," said Clark. "There's probably a million and a half displaced Syrians there, right now who fled the fighting, who are coming out of jail, who are looking to the future with hope, and also with fear and uncertainty of where they're going to get shelter and food and where their homes were, and who's the new government."
It also remains unknown who will work with the Syrians as their government transitions, said Clark.
"Is it going to be the United States?" he said. "Is it going to be the neighbors in the region like Jordan? Is it going to be Turkey who comes in and takes the lead, or Saudi Arabia… these are all factors that have to unfold here very, very quickly."
Biden also called on ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the suffering his people have endured under his regime, but Clark called that an "idealistic approach."
Russian media is reporting that al-Assad has been given asylum in Russia, but Clark said he doubts the former president will be turned over to international law officials, considering Russian President Vladimir Putin is wanted as a war criminal under the International Criminal Court.
"There's no doubt terrible things happened under Assad," said Clark. "As you may recall, 12 years, 14 years ago, President [Barack] Obama said he shouldn't remain as president of Syria. And so there was a lot of destruction, a lot of horrible things happening under Assad's regime as he tried to hold on to power."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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