State Department Declines Comment on Reports of Intelligence Flights over Syria
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. State Department reiterated that the U.S. has not yet committed to a course of action regarding the presence of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants within Syria.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Monday that the U.S. is working diligently to protect Americans. “I’m not going to get ahead of decision-making that the president hasn’t made yet, or rule any option on or off the table,” Psaki said, “but we’re not going to be restricted by borders.”
Earlier on Monday, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem said that any efforts by outside countries to fight terrorism within Syria must be coordinated with the Syrian government, state news agency Sana said. Mouallem condemned the execution of American journalist James Foley, but said that any action by other nations cannot violate Syrian sovereignty.
The New York Times is reporting that President Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria, a move that ABC News military consultant Steve Ganyard says is an integral part to gathering intelligence. “It does not mean it’s going to happen,” Ganyard said, “but it’s the first step if the Administration wants to do anything militarily. We have to build an intelligence picture, we have to see who is where, who holds what cities, who holds what key checkpoints.”
Still, Ganyard says such intelligence flights always come with some danger, but that the Syrian regime is unlikely to be the source of that danger, as any Syrian government-sponsored attack on U.S. aircraft would be “very foolish.” Ganyard also denied that intelligence flights would represent mission creep.
During Monday’s briefing, Psaki said that even if the U.S. did make the decision to fight ISIS within Syria, it would not place them on the same side as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “Certainly we would not view it as being on the same side just because there is a common enemy,” she said.
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