Can Russia shoot down US fighter jets over Syria?
PANAGYURISHTE, BM, ($1= 1.65 Bulgarian levas) – For years, there has been a debate in the United States and around the world over the legality of US military action in Syria or its airspace. As we write, two American presidents (Barack Obama and Donald Trump), as well as the current host of the White House, Joe Biden, have violated the country’s constitution by carrying out any military action in Syria.
The US Constitution is a document that not only gives certain powers to the American president but is also the supreme law in the United States. The Constitution is being interpreted.
The known facts so far in the case “Is the United States entitled to military action in Syria” are as follows: the US Congress has never voted so far to conduct hostilities on Syrian territory and the Syrian government has not given the United States the right to dispose of its troops on the territory of the country.
The text in the US Constitution that regulates the rights of the American president is Article Two. Section 2 of Article Two entitles the President to be Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army. According to Article Two of the US Constitution, the president has executive power and is the commander-in-chief of the military. But before Article Two was Article One, which gave Congress the right, not the president, the exclusive right to declare war.
According to the interpretation of this rule in the US Constitution, the president has the full right to wage a war, not to declare war. Such an interpretation of the constitution is made by Thomas Ernest Woods Jr., who is a fellow at the Mises Institute and an even author and historian.
Declaring war is not the only thing Congress must approve by vote. Deploying American troops around the world is also part of Congress’s responsibilities. The president cannot make a single decision to deploy troops anywhere unless he is allowed to. As mentioned above, there is no decision by Congress to give the President of the United States the right to deploy troops or conduct hostilities on Syrian territory.
War powers resolution
Congress gives the president the right to initiate military action by drafting and approving a War powers resolution. US history remembers several such resolutions – those on Iraq, Somalia, 9/11, Haiti, Central America.
§1541 Purpose and policy in War powers resolution in addition to giving certain rights to the President of the United States and restricts it. Point “c” confirms the right of the President of the United States to conduct military operations but under certain conditions – (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
As we wrote earlier, there is no decision by Congress to declare war on Syria, there is no specific permission for American troops to be in Syria, so there is no way American soldiers can be attacked when they are not legally in Syria.
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against September 11 Terrorists
This congressional decision is the only one backed by supporters of military action in Syria and which the three presidents use to justify US military action.
It was drawn up as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and concerns the prosecution of the perpetrators of the terrorist act. The administration of the three presidents is relying on the fact that the defeat of the al-Qaeda terrorist group will be carried out from different parts of the world. This resolution was approved by Congress on September 18, 2001 – 10 years before the start of the Syrian civil war. There is another important fact – in 2014, al-Qaeda distinguished itself from the actions of ISIS and its variants.
The United States has troops stationed in Syria, but so far there has been no military action on its territory in Syria. The United States is more involved as an arms supplier to groups seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which has nothing to do with the US government’s original goal of pursuing al-Qaeda terrorists.
Can Russia shoot down an American fighter jet over Syria?
Before answering this question, we must make one important clarification – in Syria, there is a third participant, as powerful as the United States and on the side of the Syrian president, and that is Russia. In recent years, it has been shown that before any strikes on Syrian territory by the US Air Force, Washington notifies Moscow of the upcoming actions so that the Russian army’s weapons systems in Syria do not attack the US military.
Also a second important clarification – Russia is officially invited by the Syrian government to be present and conduct military operations on Syrian territory, while the United States does not have such an invitation.
The bilateral agreement between Washington and Russia, the United States to notify the Russian Federation of impending attacks, is an unsigned agreement based on trust between the two great powers. Can Russia bring down an American fighter jet over Syria?
This means that as long as Russia accepts US airstrikes on Syria as a justified attack on terrorist groups, everyone in the world will turn a blind eye.
Now to the answer – yes. Russia may shoot down a US fighter jet over Syria. Does Moscow have the legal right to do so – yes? Will Russia do it – most likely not. It may happen in a period, but it will most likely be the result of an accident and not an intentional action.
Last but not least, how would the world react to the deliberate downing of an American fighter jet by the Russian military. Perhaps as he has reacted so far based on other similar actions – divided, or with complete indifference.
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