Written by jgsf1987   

If there's anything to be understood about the current crisis in Syria, it would be that putting a no-fly zone there is just asking to start WWIII. First off, think about who's had an alliance with the Assad government in Syria for the past 40 years or so. That would be the Russians, and by no means will they allow their ally to be subjected to the establishment of a no-fly zone.

The next factor to bear in mind is that a no-fly zone will do nothing to stop the back-and-forth advances of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) inside both Syria and Iraq, nor will it quelch the ongoing Syrian Civil War. To be clear, the conflict in Syria has risen to the point that the two largest nuclear powers are almost completely pitted against each other. If there's a wrong move on either the US-led or Russian-led side, it could become a trigger for a much more dangerous escalation. So what has become one of the biggest geopolitical struggles in Modern History could easily metastasize from a proxy war to a complete global war if various pieces move to the wrong places.

Lastly, establishing and enforcing a No-Fly Zone in Syria would absolutely kill the ongoing, though difficult, peace talks to bring about a political solution to this ongoing crisis. For the past several months, US and Russian officials have been jointly leading the peace talks to end the Syrian Civil War, together with other regional powers Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran; all of whom have competing interests for Syria. This is why establishing and enforcing a No-Fly Zone is a massive strategic blunder (possibly worse than the bungled invasion and occupation of Iraq from 2003-11).