U.S. officials say the U.S. has begun surveillance flights over Syria, after President Barack Obama gave the OK _ in a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against Islamic State militants. (Aug. 26) AP
In this handout released by the U.S. Navy courtesy of Northrop Grumman, an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator flies over after launching from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush May 14, 2013, in the Atlantic Ocean.(Photo: U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. surveillance flights over Syria have started with President Obama's go ahead, a step that will provide potential targets if airstrikes against Islamic State militants are approved.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that an unnamed U.S. official said the flights had begun. USA TODAY reported Monday that the flights will provide information on potential targets for strikes in Syria if Obama approves.
White House officials declined Tuesday morning to comment on the status of the flights.
"We're not going to comment on intelligence or operational issues, as we've been saying, we'll use all the tools at our disposal," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council. "While the president has not made a decision to take additional military actions at this time, we don't restrict our options by geographic boundaries when it comes to the central mission of protecting our people."
The initiative to plan intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions over Syria was contained in the execution order that allowed for the airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, according to a Defense Department official speaking on condition of anonymity because the details were not authorized to be released publicly.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would not confirm or deny the reports but did say the military wants a clearer picture of the jihadist militants who are operating in Syria.
Dempsey said the United States has a better view of the militants in Iraq, where the U.S. military is flying more than 50 surveillance and reconnaissance missions per day in addition to conducting airstrikes.
The militants, who call themselves the Islamic State, are operating in both Iraq and Syria and U.S. officials have said it would be difficult to defeat the threat without addressing the militants on both sides of the porous border between the two countries.
"Clearly the picture we have of ISIS on the Iraqi side is a more refined picture," Dempsey said, referring to the group by one of its acronyms. "The existence and activities of ISIS on the Syrian side — we have some insights into that but we certainly want more insights into that as we craft a way forward."
Dempsey made the remarks to reporters during a short trip to Afghanistan.
Obama has not decided which steps to take in Syria. Col. Ed Thomas, a Dempsey spokesman, said Monday that Dempsey is working with U.S. Central Command, which oversees troops in the region, to select options "both in Iraq and Syria with a variety of military tools, including airstrikes."
Surveillance flights over Syria would allow the military to get a better picture of the viability of the airstrikes, should the White House make such a decision, but officials caution that a decision has not been made.
In Iraq, the U.S. military is coordinating with Iraqi forces in carrying out airstrikes against the militants. The strikes are limited to protecting U.S. personnel and supporting humanitarian efforts.
The United States would have no such partner in Syria, where the militants are fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, a foe of the United States.
Dempsey has said that countering the threat in Syria and Iraq will ultimately require a broad coalition aimed at undermining the support the group has among Sunnis in the region.
"ISIS will only truly be defeated when it's rejected by the 20 million disenfranchised Sunni that happen to reside between Damascus and Baghdad," Dempsey told reporters recently at the Pentagon. "It requires the application of all of the tools of national power — diplomatic, economic, information, military."
Contributing: Gregory Korte and the Associated Press
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