Congress is trying to do something about Ukraine.
Only, it can’t do much.
There are increasing calls — especially among Republican lawmakers — for NATO …
Congress is trying to do something about Ukraine. Only, it can’t do much. There are increasing calls — especially among Republican lawmakers — for NATO to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine. A war spilling over into Europe alarms many on Capitol Hill. That’s why senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., are now pushing for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Kinzinger was a pilot in the Air National Guard until recently. Lawmakers aren’t confident that the current «containment» policy is working. This is all hypothetical. You might characterize the no-fly zone talk as «infuse to defuse.» The push reflects a slow shift on Capitol Hill among lawmakers as they try to push their way into the conflict without getting the West bogged down in battle. It’s nibbling around the edges in order to keep a broader war from spreading. NATO would undoubtedly administer any «no-fly zone.» The United States would inevitably be a part of such an operation. Colleague Rich Edson notes that NATO just discussed the issue at a meeting in Brussels. The Pentagon stressed that a no-fly zone would invite conflict between NATO and Russian aircraft. NATO leaders, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have stressed the importance of defending NATO territory, which does not include Ukraine. «We are not going to move into Ukraine. Neither on the ground or in the Ukrainian airspace,» NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. «The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send fighter planes into Ukraine and the airspace and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes.» Still, American lawmakers are trying to manage this fight from afar, floating ideas and suggestions. Even if they are rejected in Brussels. Here’s the problem for the U.S. if it is involved in a hypothetical no-fly zone: The declaration of a no-fly zone isn’t self-executing. It entails enforcement. A no-fly zone is only successful when one side can maintain clear superiority in the air. That is not the case if NATO and the U.S. were to be involved with enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine and are up against the Russians.
