US Intelligence: Russia could attack American aircraft in Syria
The director of national intelligence of the United States, James Clapper, suggested on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin could give the order to shoot down US aircraft to ensure the no-fly zone over Syria if the United States and its allies decide to establish such zones for the protection of civilians.
“I don’t think that they rule out the option of destruction of US aircraft if they think that it poses a threat to their ground forces,” James Clapper said during his speech at the meeting of the Foreign Policy Council in New York. Clapper called the Russian anti-aircraft missile systems deployed in Syria modern effective weapons. According to him, Russia wouldn’t deploy them to Syria if it had no intention of using the missile systems.
The idea of a no-fly zone in Syria is being actively discussed by the US president, Barack Obama, and the American press. The Democratic party nominee for President of the United States, Hillary Clinton, supports the idea of establishing a no-fly zone in Syria after holding consultations with Russia. According to her, the implementation of this measure will help to protect the civilian population and bring an end to the conflict.
The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Michael Hayden, admitted in his interview with CNN that the implementation of this idea is risky. “However, are we ready to live in a world where Russians are ready to take the risk of confrontation, while we step aside for them? Think about the consequences of this,” Hayden said.
Experts from US Intelligence and the Pentagon propose supplying weapons to Syrian opposition forces as an alternative. However, Obama isn’t ready to approve this idea.