By Adam Levine | June 25th, 2012 12:01 AM ET | CNN
Turkey's leadership took on a much more strident tone on Sunday, calling the downing of its military jet
by Syria an "act of aggression" and invoking its right to consult with other NATO nations. That call to meet has
raised the question of whether other nations, including the United States, would be compelled to strike back on
Turkey's behalf.
NATO members will be meeting this Tuesday in Belgium to discuss the incident, at the request of Turkish officials,
according to NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
With the consultations, there is a chance Turkey will demand a collective military response. The notion comes
from what is known as Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Washington Treaty, which states that
should a member nation - which Turkey is - be attacked, other NATO members are compelled in a collective act of
self-defense "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security
of the North Atlantic area."
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=t1largmap.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/t1largmap.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
If NATO was looking for a fight, this would be a good opportunity to invoke Article 5, but there is no appetite for a military
conflict with Syria at the moment, several NATO diplomats told CNN. There are many factors that weigh against a military
response.
The United States and many other countries have been vocally opposed to military intervention and will not be quick to
encourage Turkey to press the issue.
Panetta was asked about invoking Article 5 at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in April.
"I think it's clear that the only way that the United States would get involved militarily is if there's a consensus in the
international community to try to do something along those lines. And then obviously ensure that the international community
is able to get the - the authorities required in order to make that happen," Panetta said. "They would have to make clear that
what is happening there really does truly represent a direct threat to Turkey. And I think at this point, that's probably a stretch."
"The operative word that almost certainly disqualifies this incident from an Article 5 response is 'attack.' Turkey was engaged
in aggressive action along its border with Syria during a particularly tense situation and flew into Syrian airspace," Joyner wrote,
"While shooting down the plane was almost certainly an overreaction - the Assad government has said as much - it's hardly an
'attack.'"
In the end, nobody is expecting the Turks even to ask to invoke Article 5, knowing that NATO would probably not go along,
diplomats told CNN on Sunday. The impression was that Turkey itself does not want to ratchet thing up that high, either.
Turkey's leadership took on a much more strident tone on Sunday, calling the downing of its military jet
by Syria an "act of aggression" and invoking its right to consult with other NATO nations. That call to meet has
raised the question of whether other nations, including the United States, would be compelled to strike back on
Turkey's behalf.
NATO members will be meeting this Tuesday in Belgium to discuss the incident, at the request of Turkish officials,
according to NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
With the consultations, there is a chance Turkey will demand a collective military response. The notion comes
from what is known as Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Washington Treaty, which states that
should a member nation - which Turkey is - be attacked, other NATO members are compelled in a collective act of
self-defense "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security
of the North Atlantic area."
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=t1largmap.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/t1largmap.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
If NATO was looking for a fight, this would be a good opportunity to invoke Article 5, but there is no appetite for a military
conflict with Syria at the moment, several NATO diplomats told CNN. There are many factors that weigh against a military
response.
The United States and many other countries have been vocally opposed to military intervention and will not be quick to
encourage Turkey to press the issue.
Panetta was asked about invoking Article 5 at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in April.
"I think it's clear that the only way that the United States would get involved militarily is if there's a consensus in the
international community to try to do something along those lines. And then obviously ensure that the international community
is able to get the - the authorities required in order to make that happen," Panetta said. "They would have to make clear that
what is happening there really does truly represent a direct threat to Turkey. And I think at this point, that's probably a stretch."
"The operative word that almost certainly disqualifies this incident from an Article 5 response is 'attack.' Turkey was engaged
in aggressive action along its border with Syria during a particularly tense situation and flew into Syrian airspace," Joyner wrote,
"While shooting down the plane was almost certainly an overreaction - the Assad government has said as much - it's hardly an
'attack.'"
In the end, nobody is expecting the Turks even to ask to invoke Article 5, knowing that NATO would probably not go along,
diplomats told CNN on Sunday. The impression was that Turkey itself does not want to ratchet thing up that high, either.
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