White House authorizes surveillance flights over Syria

President Barack Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syrian territory, the first step in the process of launching airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria.

The New York Times reports the surveillance flights were approved over the weekend of Aug. 23-24. Spy planes such as the U-2 and a variety of unmanned drones will be the aircraft utilized.

In recent days, civilian and defense officials have suggested that airstrikes limited to Iraq would not be enough to severely limit or damage the operational capacity of the Islamic State.

The Islamic State controls much of Syria and Iraq without any challenge to its rule from locals or Syrian government forces. In the Syrian province of Raqqa, the Islamic State recently made a major gain in the consolidation of its control of that province.

In a weeks-long siege and bloody battle that left hundreds dead, IS fighters took control of the Taqba air base, which had been the last base under Syrian government control in the entire province of Raqqa. The Islamic State uses the city and regional capital of Raqqa as the unofficial capital of their caliphate.

The Times reports that the United States does not plan to notify Syria of these flights.

If airstrikes should follow from the observation missions, they will most likely be focused on the border between Iraq and Syria. The Obama administration does not want to be thought of as aiding the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The White House hopes to weaken the Islamic States without appearing to support Assad by focusing airstrikes on territory clearly outside the regime's possible control.

The use of airstrikes in Syria will raise a tricky diplomatic issue for the United States.

The Washington Post reports that Syria has publicly said such attacks would be considered aggression. Russia, a member of the United Nations Security Council, has supported and reiterated this position.