25-04-2024 09:10 PM Jerusalem Timing

US Military Proposes No-Fly Zone over Syria

US Military Proposes No-Fly Zone over Syria

US military proposals for arming Syrian rebels include a limited no-fly zone over rebel training camps, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

US military proposals for arming Syrian militants include a limited no-fly zone over rebel training camps, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

This zone would stretch up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) into Syria, and would be enforced by warplanes flying inside Jordan and armed with long-distance air-to-air missiles, the Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials.

Obama on SyriaMilitary experts have long warned that a no-fly zone would require Western jets to destroy the relatively good air defenses.

But US planners believe this no-fly zone could be imposed in about a month without having to destroy the Syrian antiaircraft batteries.

A no-fly zone is necessary to set up a camp to train rebels, officials said.

“Unless you have a good buffer zone inside Syria, you risk too much," an unnamed US official briefed on the military proposal told the Journal.

This limited no-fly zone would cost about $50 million a day, far less than a Syria-wide no-fly zone. US officials hope that Washington's allies could help cover the cost.

The US planes would fly from Jordan -- where US Patriot missiles and F-16 jet fighters have already been deployed -- and from navy ships in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the Journal reported.