US fears no-fly zone over Syria could trigger conflict with Russia
The Pentagon has warned that enforcing a no-fly zone over Syria could drag the United States into a direct confrontation with Russia and Syria.
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Paul Selva warned the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday about the threat of "a direct conflict" with Syrian forces or "a miscalculation" with the Russians should the US enforce a safe area in northern Syria.
"We have the military capacity to impose a no-fly zone” in Syria, but “the question that we need to ask is do we have the political and policy backdrop with which to do so?" Selva asked.
Committee Chairman John McCain, however, harshly criticized the general. “It's one of the more embarrassing statements I've ever heard from a uniformed military officer, that we are worried about Syria and Russia's reaction to saving the lives of thousands and thousands of Syrians who are being barrel-bombed and massacred."
US President Barack Obama has rejected the idea of imposing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria.
Since late September 2014, the US and its allies have been carrying out airstrikes purportedly against Daesh positions Syria.
The US-led coalition, however, has failed to defeat or even contain the terrorists, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
Russia has also been conducting airstrikes on Daesh in Syria at the request of the Syrian government since September 30.
Daesh terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Syria and Iraq.
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