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Permission now needed to fly in Iraqi airspace
By Jeffrey Schogol - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 9, 2012 11:03:50 EST
For more than 20 years, the Air Force flew through Iraqi airspace at will: First, to enforce the no-fly zones established after the Persian Gulf War, and later to support the latest Iraq war.
But with the end of the U.S. military’s mission in Iraq, the Air Force now has to ask permission to transit Iraqi airspace — and only for a brief time at that, an official from U.S. Transportation Command said.
Complicating matters: Flights over Iraq usually pass over Turkey, requiring a separate clearance process.
As a result, the Air Force is entering a period of adjustment.
Since this is a new requirement, the Air Force is still trying to cut down the time it takes to ask for and receive clearance to fly over Iraq, the TRANSCOM official said. One medical evacuation flight’s return trip was delayed because, by the time it received permission to fly through Iraq, its allotted time had passed.
Asked how the move by the Iraqis might complicate its mission, U.S. Air Forces Central referred questions to TRANSCOM.
So far, the Iraqi government has not refused any Air Force requests to fly through its airspace, said Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.
“It is normal that the United States needs to ask permission as they ask any other country that they are crossing through, keeping in mind that we have agreed that Iraqi airspace — as with the land or water — should not be used for any attack against any other neighbors,” Dabbagh said.
Aside from the inconvenience, the new requirement should not affect the Air Force’s mission elsewhere in the region, said Peter Juul, a military expert with the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
“Operations in support of combat operations in Afghanistan (i.e., tanker and bomber flights) are conducted from bases in Gulf Arab states and shouldn’t be affected by this move except perhaps when rotating in and out of bases,” Juul said in an email.
“Other scenarios (such as combat operations against Iran) shouldn’t be complicated too much either given the fact that Iraq isn’t a bottleneck to deploying or operating U.S. air forces in the region,” he added. “In short, the Air Force should be able to work around any issues with Iraqi airspace permission with other partners and allies in the region.”
The move by the Iraqis was expected, said retired Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff from 2001 to 2005.
“These are the prerogatives of a sovereign nation, which we went to great trouble to create,” Jumper said.
All the services have to deal with “rights of passage” when dealing with access to partner nations, and their airspace or territorial waters, Jumper said.
“I think that this is just a typical exercise of sovereign rights and we should — and we did — anticipate this,” he said. “This is not a surprise.”
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By Jeffrey Schogol - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 9, 2012 11:03:50 EST
For more than 20 years, the Air Force flew through Iraqi airspace at will: First, to enforce the no-fly zones established after the Persian Gulf War, and later to support the latest Iraq war.
But with the end of the U.S. military’s mission in Iraq, the Air Force now has to ask permission to transit Iraqi airspace — and only for a brief time at that, an official from U.S. Transportation Command said.
Complicating matters: Flights over Iraq usually pass over Turkey, requiring a separate clearance process.
As a result, the Air Force is entering a period of adjustment.
Since this is a new requirement, the Air Force is still trying to cut down the time it takes to ask for and receive clearance to fly over Iraq, the TRANSCOM official said. One medical evacuation flight’s return trip was delayed because, by the time it received permission to fly through Iraq, its allotted time had passed.
Asked how the move by the Iraqis might complicate its mission, U.S. Air Forces Central referred questions to TRANSCOM.
So far, the Iraqi government has not refused any Air Force requests to fly through its airspace, said Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.
“It is normal that the United States needs to ask permission as they ask any other country that they are crossing through, keeping in mind that we have agreed that Iraqi airspace — as with the land or water — should not be used for any attack against any other neighbors,” Dabbagh said.
Aside from the inconvenience, the new requirement should not affect the Air Force’s mission elsewhere in the region, said Peter Juul, a military expert with the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
“Operations in support of combat operations in Afghanistan (i.e., tanker and bomber flights) are conducted from bases in Gulf Arab states and shouldn’t be affected by this move except perhaps when rotating in and out of bases,” Juul said in an email.
“Other scenarios (such as combat operations against Iran) shouldn’t be complicated too much either given the fact that Iraq isn’t a bottleneck to deploying or operating U.S. air forces in the region,” he added. “In short, the Air Force should be able to work around any issues with Iraqi airspace permission with other partners and allies in the region.”
The move by the Iraqis was expected, said retired Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff from 2001 to 2005.
“These are the prerogatives of a sovereign nation, which we went to great trouble to create,” Jumper said.
All the services have to deal with “rights of passage” when dealing with access to partner nations, and their airspace or territorial waters, Jumper said.
“I think that this is just a typical exercise of sovereign rights and we should — and we did — anticipate this,” he said. “This is not a surprise.”
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