© AFP 2016/ ARIS MESSINIS
Department of Defense Press Secretary Peter Cook said at a press briefing earlier this week that the United States is prepared to communicate directly with the Syrian government to avoid another situation like the Syrian Air Force conducting airstrikes near ground forces close to Hasakah.
"The United States should issue a rolling 'no fly' line and tell [Syrian President Bashar] Assad that any aircraft that enters such an area will be shot down and that any 'accidental' air strikes on Allied forces or those supported by the allies will prompt a retaliation," Bucci said on Wednesday.
Last week, the Defense Department said it contacted its Russian counterparts through the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) deconfliction channel established to ensure flight safety during combat missions over Syria.
Bucci is a former US Special Forces commander, military assistant to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Integration and Defense Support of Civil Authorities.
Comment: Imagine Russian special forces land in the US. Russian jets appear over the States, bombing targets it says contain terrorists. Russian officials then call for a "no fly" line and tell President Obama that any American aircraft that enters such an area will be shot down and that any "accidental" airstrikes on Russian forces will prompt a retaliation. You'd think the world went slightly mad, no? Well, it already is, because that is essentially what is happening in Syria.