President Donald Trump is right to respond forcefully to ISIS attacks in Syria, as the terror group will thrive where governments are weak and security is fractured, former Trump National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz said Sunday on Newsmax.
"We know ISIS thrives in ungoverned areas, in areas of anarchy," Fleitz told Newsmax's "Sunday Report." "The Syrian government is very weak."
Fleitz added that Syria’s security situation remains complicated, saying the government "has put extremists and foreign fighters into its security services. ... We can't let ISIS reconstitute itself."
The U.S. military on Friday launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria in retaliation for a suspected ISIS attack that killed U.S. personnel last weekend in the Mideast country.
Turning to the U.S. interdiction of Venezuelan oil shipments, Fleitz described the action as narrowly focused on sanctioned vessels and said it is designed to pressure the Maduro regime without a broader shutdown of maritime traffic.
"This is a blockade of sanctioned tankers, not a blockade of all sanctions, all tankers. It might be called a quarantine," Fleitz said, adding that vessels are "flying under false flags," turning off transponders, and shipping oil to Asia.
He said the trade can benefit hostile actors and called the U.S. effort "a very careful and measured effort to put pressure on the Maduro regime."
Fleitz also said Cuba is among the countries affected because it "benefits hugely from this illicit oil trade."
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, a former U.S. deputy military representative to NATO, agreed with the strikes on Syria, saying Trump’s actions are intended to establish deterrence while acknowledging the risk of potential blowback.
Calling it an "operation that the president had to undertake," Holt said that even with the risk of retaliation, leaders must clearly define their red lines and deterrents.
Holt said the message extends beyond ISIS and is aimed at preventing another terrorist foothold in Syria.
"It's about sending a message to al-Qaida. We're not going to tolerate another terrorist state in Syria rising," he said.
He also warned of wider threats he said could emerge through linked networks.
"There are terrorist cells that are linked up with Hezbollah [in] Aragua, Venezuela, the cartels, and activations could occur that we could see that as they become desperate," Holt said.
On the Venezuelan tanker interdictions, Holt said large vessels can be used for other illicit cargo and said U.S. authorities should treat the broader security risk seriously.
"I couldn't agree with Fred more. But let's also remember that in big ships like this, they carry other things. So human trafficking, weapons, biological agents," Holt said.
"We have to make sure that we're protecting the United States," he added. "Because when you make desperate people even more desperate, they do incredible things."
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