Syria, Russia and other Bullies

Dear Friends,

In a post on September 11, 2015 (here), I argued in favor of a no-fly zone to protect the Syrian people from their own government.

A no-fly zone will stop the Syrian government from using barrel bombs to kill civilians, it should enable the establishment of safe zones where aid agencies can provide water, food and shelter. I realize that Russia will probably continue to oppose any such actions, but we cannot sit by and continue to watch the genocide in Syria and force people to flee their homeland in violent and perilous conditions. The world needs to stand up to bullies whether Bashar al-Assad, Putin, ISIL or any others. 

The issue of a no-fly zone or zones in Syria has been talked about again in the last couple of days.  Secretary Clinton broke with the Obama Administration and called for a no-fly zone for humanitarian reasons.  Senator Sanders continues to oppose a no-fly zone as leading to more involvement in a conflict that we are ill-equipped to take on.  Also since my post on September 11th, the Russians have started flying missions in support of the Assad government against ISIS and rebel targets.  Apparently Russia has created its own no-fly zone and told American planes to stay out.

My statement "that Russia will probably continue to oppose any such actions" was certainly an understatement.  According to a Financial Times article this afternoon (here),

Just weeks ago, after months of diplomacy, officials were close to an agreement on enforcing aerial safe-zones to end the Assad regime’s bombing of civilians in northern and southern Syria, according to diplomats and military officials in the US-led coalition. The agreement was based on Jordanian and Turkish plans presented earlier this year.

Many officials believe an imminent move to ramp up coalition activity in Syria precipitated the Kremlin’s sudden intervention late last month.

Apparently Putin is using his activities in Syria to be in charge of what happens to the Assad government.

If we attempt to impose a no-fly zone now, we will be in direct conflict with the Russians and would greatly escalate the already large risk of a major confrontation.  President Obama said that running for President is different from being President about Hillary Clinton's call for a no-fly zone.  He could have added that writing blogs is a lot easier than actually having to make decisions in very complicated circumstances.  It looks to me that the coalition tried to find a way to use no-fly zones to provide humanitarian aid, but Putin has now blocked that avenue.  I am glad that President Obama tried.  I do not have the answer.  If Secretary Clinton or any of the Republican candidates that are calling for no-fly zones in Syria have a plan, they should lay out the entire plan in detail because the issues are far more complex than can be dealt with in sound bites.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal