Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus has warned about the ongoing conflict in Syria, saying the situation in the country is like “a geopolitical Chernobyl.”
In written comments to The Washington Post, the former general criticized the Obama administration’s strategy in Syria and Iraq.
“Until it is capped, it is going to continue to spew radioactive instability and extremist ideology over the entire region,” Petraeus said.
“Any strategy to stabilize the region thus needs to take into account the challenges in both Iraq and Syria. It is not sufficient to say that we’ll figure them out later,” he added.
The Chernobyl nuclear explosion was the biggest nuclear catastrophe of the 20th century.
On April 26, 1986, the Number Four reactor at Chernobyl, which was then part of the Soviet Union, exploded.
The incident sent a cloud of radiation across Europe, harming and killing thousands of people.
Authorities evacuated over 110,000 people from their homes as a 30 kilometer-radius exclusion zone was established around the damaged nuclear reactor.
The Pentagon announced on Thursday it has carried out 2,320 airstrikes against the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq and Syria since August, hitting about 4,250 targets at a cost of $1.83 billion.
The US Defense Department said the airstrikes by American forces had targeted tanks, oil infrastructure and fighting positions. The tally covered airstrikes conducted between August 8, 2014, and March 18, 2015.
As of March 12, the Pentagon had spent about $1.83 billion on the strikes, an average of about $8.5 million daily, Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Steve Warren said.
Source: Press TV