Syria Destroys U.S. Drone: U.S. Military And Pentagon Vexed By Country’s Action
As of this moment, the relationship between Syria and the United States is one that is quite complicated. Most of the strain has to do with the fact Syria is one of the two countries where the Islamic State (ISIS and ISIL) is based, yet certain Syrians are not fighting back against the terrorist group.
The Inquisitr previously reported on this multilateral relationship in which General Dempsey has made it clear the U.S. military will take out ISIS in Syria if the U.S. is attacked, yet does nothing about the tens of thousands of people, especially Christians, who are killed in the area.
Despite the turmoil happening in Syria, the United States military does have some organized control with their presence there. So it is very vexing for them that one of their drones was shot down in an area deemed safe for operations.
According to an article by Fox News, an unarmed Predator drone went down over Syria last Tuesday on March 17. A senior U.S. official says that it was most likely done by Syrian air defense systems near Latakia in northwest Syria.
What is peculiar about the situation is why the U.S. drone was shot down in the first place. The area the U.S. drone was flying in was, as mentioned earlier, safe for operations. However, the U.S. military may be the ones at fault for the ultimate demise of the drone. According to USA Today, thorough investigation of the situation shows that the U.S. drone ventured into sensitive airspace. Yet, reaching a definitive conclusion on the reason why may not be decided for days.
As of now, both the Pentagon and the White House have declined to state publicly the cause for the U.S. drone’s destruction, but Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, reiterated warnings to Bashar Assad, the President of Syria, that he should not interfere with the air war being conducted against the Islamic State.
“We certainly continue to believe that that is what the Assad regime should do, which is not interfere with our ongoing efforts there as we deal with ISIL and some other extremists that may pose a threat to the United States and our interests around the world. That — our insistence that they not interfere is — still applies.”
In the end, the downing of the U.S. drone has not halted the U.S. pilots’ air war in Syria, as explained by Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the Pentagon. However, it has caused Senior Obama Administration officials to discuss what the implications of the incident might be.
