{ "id": "R41701", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R41701", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 420431, "date": "2013-05-03", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T21:08:50.496761", "title": "No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress", "summary": "In conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq, and Libya, the United States has taken part in establishing and maintaining no-fly zones. As no-fly zones represent a significant commitment of U.S. forces, and may prove a precursor to other military actions, Congress may wish to consider issues surrounding the strategy, international authorization, congressional authorization, operations, and costs of establishing and maintaining no-fly zones.\nThe military strategy designed to support U.S. grand strategy, it has been suggested, might be based on these considerations: the operational-level military objectives that need to be achieved, to support the overall grand strategy; and the extent to which a no-fly zone\u2014as one set of ways and means\u2014helps achieve those objectives. \nPractitioners and observers have debated what constitutes international \u201cauthorization\u201d for the establishment of a no-fly zone. Given the paucity of relevant precedents, and the dissimilarities among them, there may not exist a single, clear, agreed model. The concept of authorization is typically considered to be linked to the ideas of both \u201clegality\u201d and \u201clegitimacy\u201d\u2014the three concepts overlap but are all distinct. The precise meaning of each of the terms is still debated. Express authorization from the U.N. Security Council provides the clearest legal basis for imposing a no-fly zone.\nIn addition to international authorization, debates have addressed the question of congressional authorization\u2014whether and when there is a need for congressional approval based on the War Powers Resolution for a proposed no-fly zone. The question of whether and how congressional authorization is sought for a proposed operation could have an impact on congressional support\u2014including policy, funding, and outreach to the American people\u2014for the operation. Since the War Powers Resolution gives the President the authority to launch U.S. military actions prior to receiving an authorization from Congress for 60-90 days, it is possible that the President could direct U.S. Armed Forces to take or support military actions in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions, or in support of NATO operations, and then seek statutory authority for such actions from Congress. \nNo-fly zone operations can conceivably take a number of different forms, and can themselves vary a great deal over time. Key considerations include, but are not limited to, the following factors: the nature, density, quantity, and quality of adversary air assets; geography; the availability of \u201cfriendly\u201d assets; the adversary\u2019s military capabilities and responses; the U.S. military\u2019s concept of operations; and the rules of engagement.\nThe costs of establishing and maintaining a no-fly zone are likely to vary widely based on several key parameters. They could be the specific military tasks that a given no-fly zone operation calls for, the geography of the adversary\u2019s country, the duration of the no-fly zone, the extent to which the United States is joined by international partners in the effort, and the extent of \u201cmission creep\u201d\u2014how, if at all, the operation expands to include a broader array of activities designed to achieve the same military, and strategic, objectives.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41701", "sha1": "05e2c287f21036d4257938713aef009572f0851d", "filename": "files/20130503_R41701_05e2c287f21036d4257938713aef009572f0851d.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41701", "sha1": "8038c64b72019d217dc33015cc92dec2a6a1426f", "filename": "files/20130503_R41701_8038c64b72019d217dc33015cc92dec2a6a1426f.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3153, "name": "Defense Strategy, Military Operations, and Force Structure" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc97997/", "id": "R41701_2011Apr04", "date": "2011-04-04", "retrieved": "2012-08-21T08:46:06", "title": "No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress", "summary": "This report discusses the establishment of no-fly zones and several related issues for Congress surrounding the strategy, including international authorization, congressional authorization, operations, and costs of establishing and maintaining no-fly zones.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110404_R41701_5b8b693076b9b63bf507aec7e649ba226af41a08.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110404_R41701_5b8b693076b9b63bf507aec7e649ba226af41a08.html", "source": "pymupdf" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government", "name": "Politics and government" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government -- Libya", "name": "Politics and government -- Libya" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Revolutions", "name": "Revolutions" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Defense policy", "name": "Defense policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Military policy", "name": "Military policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress", "name": "Congress" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress and military policy", "name": "Congress and military policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Declaration of war", "name": "Declaration of war" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc33028/", "id": "R41701_2011Mar18", "date": "2011-03-18", "retrieved": "2011-04-28T13:31:19", "title": "No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress", "summary": "The ongoing uprising in Libya against the government of Muammar al Qadhafi has been the subject of ongoing domestic and international debate about potential international military intervention, including the proposed establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya. This report discusses several related issues for Congress surrounding the strategy, international authorization, congressional authorization, operations, and costs of establishing and maintaining no-fly zones.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110318_R41701_fe1fa1b3f4539893f5384769b8af6b6a65ede167.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110318_R41701_fe1fa1b3f4539893f5384769b8af6b6a65ede167.html", "source": "pymupdf" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government", "name": "Politics and government" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Politics and government - Libya", "name": "Politics and government - Libya" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Revolutions", "name": "Revolutions" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Defense policy", "name": "Defense policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Military policy", "name": "Military policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress", "name": "Congress" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress and military policy", "name": "Congress and military policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Declaration of war", "name": "Declaration of war" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "Middle Eastern Affairs", "National Defense" ] }