If it looks, walks, talks and acts like a NO Fly Zone.. It surely has to be one. I don't give a hoot about the lack of official recognition. The US isn't even supposed to be "officially" waging war on Syria. Against it's people and their elected leadership but it is!So, I don't need no stinkin' official proclamation! There is a no fly zone over annexed Syrian territory!The 5 eyes media is dancing around this for obvious reasons, but, where are the anti imperialists/anti war sites regarding this question? As I asked the other day...Did the US, Again, Enforce a No Fly Zone over Annexed Syrian Territory?The latest from CNN:
A US official told CNN that another Syrian Su-22 fighter made an approach in what the military assessed as a possible bombing run on US backed-Syrian Democratic Forces near Tabqa, Syria, on Tuesday. The official said that coalition aircraft made a show of force and conducted a warning maneuver, and the Syrian fighter jet then aborted its trajectory and left the area.
Do the readers here recall the name below from past postings here?
“The chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Goldfein, told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the de-confliction line "remains open."
June 17/2016: US General: We Are Ready To Create a No-Fly Zone in Syria
“The U.S. Air Force is ready to create a no-fly zone in Syria, as stated by General David Goldfein, Rosbalt reported”Gen. David Goldfein, a battle-tested command pilot who flew combat missions in the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and in NATO's 1999 air war to force the president of the former Yugoslavia to end his campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo"
Yes, the US established de-facto no-fly zones in Syria?The New Arab: Has the US established de-facto no-fly zones in Syria?Paul Iddon suggests not only do they have no fly zones, but, they have no drive zones too. Paul Iddon’s work has been featured here previously!
The US has this month twice shot down aircraft over areas in Syria, north and south, where it has forces and allied militias fighting the Islamic State group. This may indicate that Washington is bidding to establish de-facto no-fly zones in these areas. On June 18, a US F/A-18 Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Air Force Su-22 bomber after it dropped bombs near the northern Syrian town of Tabqa, close to a US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces position.Ten days earlier, June 8, a US Air Force F-15E shot down an Iranian-made Shahed 129 drone, which is roughly the same size as the iconic American Predator, after it dropped bombs near a position held by US-backed Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra anti-IS fighters in Al-Tanf, on Syria's southern border with Jordan."We do not seek conflict with any party in Syria other than ISIS, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves or our partners if threatened," Pentagon Spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said after the June 18 incident.Despite this, the mid-air conflicts indicate that the US is willing to confront Damascus and its allied militia forces if it perceives them to threaten its allies or their anti-IS campaign. In Al-Tanf, US aircraft bombed pro-regime forces approaching al-Thawra positions twice - on June 6 and May 18.Similar "no-drive zones" against regime ground forces approaching SDF positions around Raqqa may be enforced if they threaten the SDF. The Syrian Army recently made advances into the western countryside of Raqqa.
The irony of the on line commenters cheering on Syria, yet cheering for PKK/YPG as they ethnically cleansed whole areas of territory, annexing it for their own. Cognitive dissonance, I guess?A refusal to see what was occurring in plain site? Or perhaps for some an intentional obfuscation, I don't know?
The SDF issued a statement shortly after the June 18 incident charging Damascus with carrying out "large-scale attacks using aircraft, artillery and tanks" against their forces and warning if it "continues its attacks on our positions in the province of Raqqa, we will be forced to reciprocate and use our legitimate right to defend our forces".How long the US will maintain these de-facto no-fly/no-drive zones in these two areas is unclear. It's also unclear if they will become like the formalised no-fly zones the US imposed over Iraqi Kurdistan and southern Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War, where no Iraqi military aircraft were allowed without being intercepted and shot down by US-led coalition jets.