Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) receives a lot of flak for her naïve view of the world, or as she would say, a “democratic socialist” perspective. But, when it comes to a no-fly zone over Ukraine enforced by the United States, even AOC understands that if it were to happen, the U.S. would essentially be thrust into World War III. On her Instagram account Wednesday evening, AOC took the time to explain to her audience that if you’re an American who does not want war with Russia, you should not support the no-fly zone.
Right after showing off her new typewriter that prints in cursive, AOC began taking questions from her 8.5 million followers. Two of her followers asked her to explain the no-fly zone.
The first question was, “Can you please explain why the no-fly zone is [an] awful idea?”
“There are a lot of pundits, journalists, and members of congress using this term ‘no-fly zone,’” Ocasio-Cortez replied. “Except most Americans probably don’t know that declaring a no-fly zone is essentially tantamount to a declaration of war.”
“So, if you’re not comfortable with the United States declaring war against Russia, you’re probably not comfortable with a no-fly zone,” she added.
Her first answer can be seen here:
@AOC explaining that a no-fly zone would effectively making the US a direct participant in the war against Russia. Could result in a full-fledged war in Europe. pic.twitter.com/d954PvmxsQ
— Mariam Jalloul (@MariamJalloul_) March 17, 2022
Another user asked, “Why is a no-fly zone tantamount to declaring war? Is it because of enforcement?”
“Yes, that’s exactly right because a no-fly zone requires enforcement, and if the U.S. or NATO establishes it, then that means that they start shooting down Russian aircraft directly, opening the door for Russia to retaliate against those powers directly, opening the door to escalation between nuclear powers.”
— Mariam Jalloul (@MariamJalloul_) March 17, 2022
As The Daily Wire reported several weeks ago, a U.S. or NATO no-fly zone would indeed lead to war precisely because of how it is enforced. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has even had to explain this to the national press corps:
“[The] president’s been very clear about one thing all along as well, which is we’re not going to put the United States in direct conflict with Russia, not have, you know, American planes flying against Russian planes or our soldiers on the ground in Ukraine,” Blinken said in response to being asked about the maneuver, according to The Hill.
“The president also has a responsibility to not get us into a direct conflict, a direct war with Russia, a nuclear power, and risk a war that expands even beyond Ukraine to Europe,” he continued. “That’s clearly not our interest.”
“What we’re trying to do is end this war in Ukraine, not start a larger one,” Blinken added.
Regardless of what that would mean for the entire world, a recent poll indicated that “74% of Americans — including solid majorities of Republicans and Democrats — said the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine,” according to Reuters.
Yet, another recent poll found that 75% of Americans want to do everything to support Ukraine, without risking war with Russia.
The contradiction between the polls indicates that members of Congress like AOC should be explaining to their constituents what exactly a no-fly zone would entail.
Perhaps some Americans do want war with Russia, in which case a U.S.-backed no-fly zone would get us there.
But, as AOC said, if you’re against war with Russia, then you probably should be against a no-fly zone.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.