Martin O’Malley cast Hillary Clinton as overly hawkish for calling for a no-fly zone over Syria on Sunday.
“Secretary Clinton is always quick for the military intervention. I believe that a no-fly zone right now is not advisable,” the Democratic presidential contender told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
In opposing a no-fly zone, O’Malley is siding with President Barack Obama and another Democratic 2016 candidate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The former Maryland governor said the United States must “stay engaged” in Syria, but that enforcing a no-fly zone could draw the country into an armed conflict with Russia.
“No-fly zones sound attractive, but no-fly zones also have to be enforced. And given the fact that the Russian air force is in the airspace over Syria, this could lead to an escalation of Cold War proportions because of an accident, and I don’t think that’s in the best interests of the United States,” O’Malley said. “There are many fights in this world. I don’t believe that every fight is our fight.”