Sanders sides with Obama in opposing no-fly zone in Syria

 

Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSanders holding news conference to mark campaign's one-year anniversary Bloomberg targets Trump, Sanders in speech One year into his campaign, a look at Sanders's ascent in the polls MORE (I-Vt.) says he opposes implementing an American no-fly zone in Syria — a move that puts him in line with President Obama and at odds with Democratic primary front-runner Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonKasich: Trump would get 'crushed' by Clinton George Will: GOP must stop Trump even if he wins nomination Sanders holding news conference to mark campaign's one-year anniversary MORE.

 

“I oppose, at this point, a unilateral American no-fly zone in Syria, which could get us more deeply involved in that horrible civil war and lead to a never-ending U.S. entanglement in the region,” Sanders told the Washington Post.

 

The Democratic presidential candidate said U.S. involvement in the conflict could end up making things worse.

 

“We must be very careful about not making a complex and dangerous situation in Syria even worse,” Sanders said. 

 

“I support President Obama’s efforts to combat ISIS in Syria while at the same time supporting those in that country trying to remove the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad.”

 

A growing chorus of Democrats is joining the GOP in calling for a no-fly zone in the war-torn state, a move the Obama administration has adamantly opposed.

 

Clinton, who served four years as Obama’s secretary of State, publicly broke with the president and called for air patrols in the region after Russian aircraft began targeting U.S.-backed forces opposing Syrian President Bashar Assad.

 

“I personally would be advocating now for a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to try to stop the carnage on the ground and from the air,” Clinton said in an interview with an NBC affiliate on Thursday.

 

Obama dismissed a question as to whether Clinton’s proposal was “half-baked” at a press conference Friday, calling the issue a "tough call."

 

But he did say that “there’s a difference between running for president and being president. And the decisions that are being made and the discussions that I’m having with the joint chiefs become much more specific and require, I think, a different kind of judgment.”

 

The Obama administration has approved limited airstrikes but resisted further U.S. involvement in the Syrian conflict, which has displaced millions and sparked an international refugee crisis.