Responsible Statecraft: Moscow and Washington shadowboxing in the skies over Syria
Tensions related to the war in Ukraine are resulting in actual physical altercations on another battlefront thousands of miles away.
U.S.-Russian tensions continued to rise this week as two U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones were damaged by flares released from Russian jets over Syria.
The first incident on Sunday damaged the drone’s propeller but did not cause it to crash, but it echoed a similar episode over the Black Sea in March when the drone crashed after a collision with a Russian jet. Another incident occurred Wednesday over northwest Syria and resulted in damage to one of the drone’s wings.
That makes for a reported total of six incidents involving Russian and American aircraft in July. The confrontations were a reminder of the potential dangers of U.S. and Russian forces operating in close proximity to each other in Syria, and they raise the question of why U.S. forces are still operating in a country where they have no legal mandate.
Read more ....
Russia And U.S. Tensions Escalating In The Skies Over Syria
Russia, U.S. Inch Toward Direct Conflict in Middle East -- Newsweek
Russian fighter jets stirring up trouble, US combat drones pay price -- Business Insider
Russia says US-led coalition violated Syrian airspace 8 times in 1 day -- Anadolu Agency
Russia Blames US MQ-9 Reaper Drone For Locking Missiles, Almost Crashing Into Su-34, Su-35 Fighters Over Syria -- EurAsian Times
Russian Fighter Damages a Second MQ-9 Over Syria. So What Should the US Do Now? -- Air & Space Forces Magazine
This part of the article says it all....
ReplyDeleteBoth parties (Democrat and Republican) share the blame for the illegal military presence in Syria. Presidents of both parties have continued it, and members of Congress from both sides have allowed the executive to wage an illegal war there. There have been several attempts in Congress to require the exit of all U.S. forces on war powers grounds, but they have been unsuccessful.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman has introduced a new amendment to the NDAA that would prohibit funding for an American military presence in Syria after one year in the absence of congressional authorization. Whatever happens with Bowman’s amendment, there is no question that right now U.S. forces are in Syria illegally, as they have been for the last nine years.
No mandate, no strategic value, an ideologically driven action...an accident waiting to happen.
Only a matter of time before a shoot down occurs, then what? Do we reinforce our illegal occupation and fight or run away whimpering? A disaster waiting to happen
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