Heather A. Conley, CSIS
Much of the current challenge over Syrian and neighboring countries’ airspace is the ad hoc nature of so-called de-confliction with Russia. When Russia inserted itself militarily into Syria on September 30th at the request of the Assad government, senior U.S. Defense Department officials warned this scenario might unfold and scrambled to establish a communication channel with Russia to avoid “misjudgment and miscalculation” and prevent “an accident.” But in practice this has amounted to the Kremlin directing the United States to halt operations in Syria while it conducts its own airstrikes (something Washington has refused to do), suggesting the limitations of these communications and the ability to de-conflict. Read More >>
