Sunday, March 17, 2013

Gen. Mattis: NATO PAC batteries in Turkey could enforce no-fly zone

http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/geostrategy-direct/secure/2013/03_20/mi.asp

 

Gen. Mattis: NATO PAC batteries in Turkey could enforce no-fly zone

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has assessed that Patriot air and missile defense batteries deployed in Turkey could enforce a no-fly zone over Syria.

Officials said the six PAC-2 and -3 batteries contributed by NATO to protect Turkey could also serve as the basis of a no-fly zone in neighboring Syria. They said the Patriots would monitor Syrian military air traffic over northern Syria and neighboring areas to help end the two-year war.

Gen. James Mattis, commander, U.S. Central Command, testifies on March 5 before the Senate Armed Services Committee.  AP/Evan Vucci


"After two years, more than 70,000 people dead, millions displaced, and growing threats to U.S. national security interests, it is clear the time to act in Syria is long overdue," Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said.

On March 5, Central Command chief Gen. James Mattis agreed with McCain that the PACs in Turkey could be used to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria. Mattis, in his last appearance before the Senate panel, said the Patriots would comprise an element of a solution to end the civil war in Syria without direct American military intervention.

"I was very encouraged to hear that Gen. Mattis agrees the United States has the capability to destroy a 'fair amount' of the Assad's regime's operational aircraft on the ground using stand-off weapons that would not require a larger campaign against Syria's air defense systems," McCain said after the hearing.

"Moreover, Gen. Mattis agreed that the United States could utilize the six Patriot missile batteries that have been deployed by NATO to the Syrian-Turkish border in order to help defend a no-fly zone over a significant portion of northern Syria — an action that requires no American boots on the ground and could help deny the Assad regime’s use of the air power, including Scud missiles, in northern Syria."

McCain has been one of the sharpest critics of the U.S. policy of military non-intervention in Syria. The senator, who lost to President Barak Obama in the 2008 election, blamed U.S. inaction for the raging civil war, said to have displaced 1 million Syrians.

In his testimony, Mattis, unlike senior defense officials, warned of the danger of Syrian chemical weapons facilities. He said Central Command has drafted and submitted contingencies to stabilize Syria should President Bashar Assad fall.

"Let's not forget that these Scud missiles can be used to launch chemical weapons, and the United States must take action to prevent such an outcome," McCain said.

 

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