Entangling Alliance
There’s another wildfire with the potential to burn out of control — this one on the Turko-Syrian border:
When the Syrians shot down a Turkish military jet at the weekend, Turkey’s government responded with commendable moderation. But the temperature rose yesterday when the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc, revealed that Syria had gone on to fire on a plane sent to look for the missing pilots and described this as “a hostile act of the highest order”. Turkey is now threatening a military response against any Syrian forces approaching the long border between the two countries and has revised its military rules of engagement. . . .
But just as significantly Turkey is a member of Nato. Ankara has approached the alliance now under Article 4 of the Nato Treaty which allows any member state to demand a Nato meeting if it believes its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” is threatened.
Turkey hasn’t invoked Article 5, which would if approved would require Alliance action in defense of Turkey.
Maybe Assad is planning death by NATO.
It looks like he is trying everything to provoke other countries to come in and knock him off.
I have a very simple response to any forthcoming Article 5 resolutions: SCREW that!!
There isn’t any genuine threat coming from Syria, and if there were, Turkey is more than capable of handling it on her own. Given her last few years of behavior, I for one would be content to see her leave the fold.
But don’t mind me, I’m an old Neanderthal who doesn’t see a modern need for NATO in the first place…
Didn’t Turkey refuse to allow US troops to base there prior to the invasion of Iraq? What great allies we have in these folks. I’m with Casey in that there may be no further need for NATO to exist. I’m not saying we should abandon our national interests, just that we need to remember what those interests are.