NATO Won't Take Military Action in Response to Turkish Jet Downing - East Idaho News
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NATO Won’t Take Military Action in Response to Turkish Jet Downing

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Getty 052212 MilitaryAircraft?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1340789051923iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BRUSSELS) — Turkey may have to take matters into its own hands following last week’s downing of one of its fighter jets by Syrian forces after NATO announced Tuesday that there would be no collective armed response to the crisis.

Ankara had requested a response from the alliance to the loss of its Phantom F-4 jet in which two pilots are still missing.  Turkey says the shoot-down occurred over international waters and was unprovoked.

In Brussels Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared, “We stand together with Turkey in spirit of solidarity” and condemned the action by Syrian forces.

However, the NATO head said the alliance did not discuss invoking Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty that calls for an armed response on behalf of a member that has been attacked.

Frustrated by NATO’s decision not to intervene, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan made it clear that the downing of its plane would not go unanswered.

He also warned, “Any military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria by posing a security risk and danger will be regarded as a threat and treated as a military target.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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