Some of America’s top military brass – active and retired – are in Iraq to commemorate a mission carried out a quarter of a century ago, and one they believe could still be dusted off and duplicated to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria.
(FOX)- The cadre of four-star American generals arrived in Kurdistan, Iraq, Thursday, where they will meet with Kurdish President Mahmoud Barzani to mark the 25thAnniversary of Operation Provide Comfort, the 1991 mission that helped keep some 450,000 civilians out of the crossfire as the U.S.-led coalition battled Saddam Hussein’s forces.
The operation established a “no-fly” zone in Northern Iraq, shielding the refugees from the brutal dictator’s airpower.
The general consensus was that what worked against Saddam could work against ISIS, the black-clad jihadist army that helped plunge Iraq and Syria into conflict and chaos.
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who was commander of Operation Provide Comfort, said creating a no-fly zone in Syria is the kind of leadership only the U.S. can provide.
“It can still be done, but it will be far more complicated than it would have been early on,” Garner said. “There are still areas in Syria to create safe zone for these refugees.”
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, about 3.2 million Syrian refugees have been uprooted from their homes in a civil war that has killed an estimated 500,000 since it began in March 2011. Getting the displaced civilians to a zone within their homeland that can be protected is a key first step to saving lives and stemming the flow of refugees into Turkey and ultimately Europe.