To the best of my ability I write about my experience of the Universe Past, Present and Future
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Clapper: U.S. Aircraft vulnerable to Russian Shoot down in Syria
The problem is that according to Cold War rules: "Syria belongs to Russia and Iraq belongs to the U.S." This is an informal set of rules that got screwed up now by Assad, ISIS and Al Qaeda over the last 4 or 5 years of various kinds of genocide in Syria. So, the U.S. has to find a way to deal with this now because it just isn't working and isn't pretty and makes us more vulnerable to a shoot down or even a nuclear war by accident with Russia.
WASHINGTON
-- National Intelligence director James Clapper says he wouldn't put it
past Russia to “to shoot down an American aircraft” if a no-fly zone is
imposed over Syria.
U.S. aircraft in Syria are vulnerable to Russia, U.S. intelligence director says
In this Aug. 10, 2014 file photo, an
aircraft lands after missions targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq
from the deck of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in
the Persian Gulf.
WASHINGTON -- National
Intelligence director James Clapper says he wouldn’t put it past Russia
to “to shoot down an American aircraft” if a no-fly zone is imposed
over Syria.
Speaking to CBS News’ Charlie Rose at the Council on Foreign Relations,
Clapper says Moscow has a very advanced and capable air defense system
deployed in Syria. He says he thinks it’s possible that Russia would
down a U.S. aircraft if it felt its ground forces were threatened.
The Obama administration has refrained from setting up a
no-fly, or safe zone for civilians, in Syria partly because of the
complexity in manning and enforcing it. Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton has called for a no-fly zone over parts of
Syria.
Asked about the U.S. attack that killed Syrian forces, Clapper called it “a mistake -- there’s no question about that.”
“It
will happen in war. It’s regrettable that every munition expended isn’t
done so with exquisite precision,” Clapper said. “And sometimes these
tragic accidents happen.”
On Putin, Clapper called him “somewhat of a throwback” to the “czar era.”
“I
think he has this vision of a great Russia, as a great power,” Clapper
said. “It’s extremely important to him that Russia be treated and
respected as a global power on a par with the United States. And I think
that has a lot to do with impelling his behavior.”
Clapper also addressed other crises around the world, saying
Aleppo is a humanitarian disaster, reports CBS News’ Pamela Falk, who
was at the meeting.
Additionally, Clapper said the effort to
denuclearize North Korea is a lost clause, and the additional sanctions
approach to that country are “running out of gas.”
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