Turkey invokes NATO charter after attack on its jet

Washington Post:

Turkey on Sunday summoned its NATO allies for emergency consultations on the downing by Syria of one of its warplanes, a move that potentially opens the door to international military intervention in the Syrian crisis for the first time. 

Turkey said it had invoked Article 4 of the NATO charter — which allows consultations in case of a security threat — after concluding that the plane was over international waters in the Mediterranean when it was hit by a Syrian missile Friday. 

Investigations into the shooting suggested that it was not an accident or a mistake, and that Syria was aware it was firing at a Turkish plane when the U.S.-made F-4 fighter was targeted without warning by at least two surface-to-air missiles, Turkish officials said. A search continued in the eastern Mediterranean for the two missing pilots. 

“It was an act of war,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said in a telephone interview. “They shot down a plane over international waters, and this is unacceptable.” Turkey sent a diplomatic note to Syria stating that under international law, Turkey “reserves the right to respond,” he added. 

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the downing “a brazen and unacceptable act” and said the United States was consulting with its allies and partners regarding “next steps” to be taken against Syria, at a time when a U.N. effort to address the spiraling bloodshed inside Syria through diplomacy is faltering. 

Although immediate military action seems unlikely, Turkey’s summons puts the Syrian crisis on NATO’s agenda for the first time since the uprising began, and the development “it is very significant,” said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. 

“The preferred option for everyone including the United States is still a political solution,” he said. “But whereas a few days ago a military option was not on the cards, now it will be discussed in a way it hasn’t been for the past year and a half. It activates NATO, which we haven’t seen before.” 

NATO spokeswoman Lungescu Oana said ambassadors of the alliance’s 28 member-states will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to hear a Turkish presentation on the incident. 

“Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened,” she said in a statement.

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Turkey could probably overrun Assad's forces without help, but might want to have the backing of NATO in doing so.  Syria loss two more of its fighters in defections to Jordan.   It is possible that the threat of force might lead to more attrition of government forces.  What would happen after that is hard to say.  As the despots have fallen in the Arab states they appear to be replaced with others of similar ilk like the recent election in Egypt.  It is likely that the departure of Assad would be a blow to Iran's goals of dominating the region.