PHOTO: US President Barack Obama
The Obama Administration has considered a “rebel-free” no-fly zone in northern and southern Syria, but has quickly backed away from the idea.
US officials said Secretary of State John Kerry and others tabled proposals on Monday, but were made by objections from the US military that the plan would be expensive and require large numbers of Turkish and Jordanian troops.
Unlike previous ideas for no-fly zones, dating back to 2012 within the Administration and renewed earlier this year by Turkey, some of the proposals on Monday would have only been implemented after rebels had left the area — effectively depriving civilians of any protection from a ground assault by the Syrian military and its allies.
That bolstered the Pentagon’s response that “the escalation would require aircraft and personnel beyond those already conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq”.
President Obama did not attend the meeting, which was led by National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and no formal decision was made.
Supporters of safe havens were discouraged, saying that the process was no more than “an exercise in due diligence”. They suspected that the Pentagon’s representatives inflated their figures to ensure Obama did not change his policy of non-intervention, and said there was no sign that the President would shift his position.
Last month, Kerry reportedly pressed for consideration of safe havens — with rebels present — but was rebuffed by Obama. In early October, the President criticized those whom he said were presenting “half-baked ideas” that amounted to “a bunch of mumbo jumbo”.
