U.S. Downing of Syrian Warplane: A “Canary in the Coal Mine”

After a U.S. Navy F/A-18E shot down a Syrian SU-22 bomber on Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly condemned the action, announced that a military hotline between U.S.-led coalition and Russian forces had been shut down, and declared that any U.S. jets flying west of the Euphrates river would be considered “air targets.” As U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Russia-backed Syrian government forces come ever closer to overlap in Raqqa Province and Deir al Zour, The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani spoke with Admiral James ‘Sandy’ Winnefeld – former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – about what this means for U.S.-Russian relations in the Syrian conflict.

The Cipher Brief: First of all, let’s talk about the U.S. downing of a Syrian warplane. There have been other incidents with the Syrian military before, but this is the first time we’ve seen a plane being shot down. What are your thoughts on that?