WASHINGTON – Sen.
John McCain on Wednesday
branded the U.S.-Russian deal to avoid conflict in the sky over Syria
"immoral," saying it gives Vladimir
Putin a green light to
bomb American allies.
The deal, announced Tuesday by the Pentagon and signed
by Central Command chief Gen. Lloyd
Austin , should not be interpreted as U.S. cooperation with Russia,
according to the top civilian official for the Air Force.
"It's a recognition that we don't want accidents
in the air," Air Force Sec. Deborah
James told the USA TODAY
editorial board on Wednesday.
The agreement with Russia includes protocols for
flying safely over battlefields in Syria and dedicated frequencies for pilots
to communicate. Pentagon officials, including James, say the deal is not an
endorsement of Russia's involvement in Syria, nor does it signal cooperation
with them.
U.S. and allied warplanes have been striking Islamic
State, or ISIL, targets in Syria since Sept. 2014. Russia began beefing up its
military presence last month in Syria, an ally, and started bombing missions
this month. As much as 90% of the Russian strikes, James said, have been
against non-ISIL targets.
The civil
war in Syria has killed
more than 200,000 people and displaced millions, leading to the refugee crisis
in Europe.
McCain, the Arizona Republican who chairs the Armed
Services Committee , said in a statement that the pact amounts to a
betrayal of moderate forces the U.S. has backed in battling the regime of
regime of Bashar
Assad . U.S. pilots will give way to Russian attack planes while
Iranian-backed Syrian ground forces attack Assad's American-backed opponents,
he said.
"This is not only self-defeating and harmful to
our national interests; it is immoral," McCain said. "These people
put their trust in the United States, believing that we would make good on our
promises to help them succeed. Now we are breaking those promises in our haste
to give Vladimir Putin clearer skies from which to bomb our partners."
The agreement, James said, was necessary to avoid
accidents for U.S. pilots. She said he had no illusions about Russia's interest
in Syria.
"What they are doing is hitting the forces that
are closest in to the territory that is held by Bashar Assad," James said.
"So they are shoring up Bashar Assad. That is what it seems like to me.
That's a 'say/do' gap. They say they want to stem the flow of refugees and
somehow assist with this refugee crisis. But what they are doing is striking
indiscriminately and causing more terror and causing more of a refugee
problem."
The agreement also shows that U.S. officials believe
that Russian airstrikes to support the portion of Syria that Assad still holds
won't stop soon, said Nicholas Heras, a researcher with the Middle East
Security Program at the Center
for a New American Security .
"The signal it sends is that the United States
recognizes that the number one priority of the Russian airstrikes, to support
the continuation of Assad's state-let, is a fact on the ground that cannot be
reversed," Heras said.
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