By Kerry Picket
Rep. Darrell Issa says that establishing a no-fly zone to block Russian fighter jets from the skies over Ukraine is vital as the U.S. is already in the initial stages of World War III.
“I want a no-fly zone. There are a lot of ways that we can create an effective standoff. One of them is we have the ability without putting aircraft above Ukraine,” the California Republican told The Washington Times. “We have the ability to assist in a way that would make it dangerous for Russian aircraft to be in the air — particularly attacking civilians.”
Mr. Issa, however, insists he does not want to put U.S. pilots in direct combat with Russian MiGs. He views a no-fly zone as helmed by Ukrainians, backed by sophisticated U.S.-supplied military aircraft and equipment.
“A lot of people are thinking of a no-fly zone as our aircraft with U.S. pilots flying against MiGs. We don’t need that. We do need to give the Ukrainians enough MiGs to be able to have a defensive force,” he said. “But the situational awareness and the deterrent can be many things and many of which we can give to the Ukrainians.”
Mr. Issa is not the only lawmaker calling on the administration to send military aircraft to Ukraine to fight off Russia’s attack. Members on both sides of the aisle have asked the administration to enable the transfer of fighter aircraft to Ukraine by way of Poland, a move Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the administration is already studying.
Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/mar/8/rep-darrell-issa-us-is-already-within-early-phases/