NATO ready to defend Turkey against Syrian attacks [View all]
Source: AP/Stars & Stripes...
BEIRUT -- NATO is ready to defend alliance member Turkey amid artillery and mortar exchanges with Syria, its top official said Tuesday, as Ankara sent additional fighter jets to reinforce an air base close to the Syria border where tensions have escalated dramatically over the past week...
... The comments by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen were the strongest show of support to Ankara since the firing began Wednesday - though the solidarity is largely symbolic. Turkey has sought NATO backing but not direct intervention and the alliance is thought to be reluctant to get involved military at a time when its main priority is the war in Afghanistan.
Ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Fogh Rasmussen backed Turkey's right to defend itself...
... Analysts say Syria appears to be intentionally escalating tensions along the border with Turkey to send a message to its northern neighbor that it will pay a high price for its support of the Syrian rebels, hoping that will deter any foreign military intervention in the 18-month-old civil war...
Read more: http://www.stripes.com/news/europe/nato-ready-to-defend-turkey-against-syrian-attacks-1.192440
Not sure this passes the 'smell test'...
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Tensions have been running high between Syria and Turkey, with Damascus accusing Ankara -- along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France, and the United States -- of backing a deadly insurgency that has claimed the lives of many Syrians, including security and army personnel.
“Nobody should ask… but what will happen if a war were to begin and bring us to that point. You should be ready for it and have the memorandum in hand. What is necessary will be done if it becomes necessary," he stated...
/... http://tehrantimes.com/middle-east/102179-erdogan-asks-turks-to-be-ready-for-syria-war
= new reply since forum marked as read
