Another War in the Middle East?

Syria seems determined to play the ” let’s declare war on a foreign somebody and the folks at home will come together” card.

It probably is not a real good idea to be shooting at the Turkish military. Not only because Turkey still has an army which has the ability to kick ass and take names…

But going to war with Turkey brings in the NATO Alliance – including the US, which includes at least 6 countries which could lay Syria to waste without breaking a sweat.

Maybe they should pick a fight with another neighbor?

A Turkish Air Force F4E Phantom similar to the one shot down by Syrian forces.

Turkey says Syria fired at second Turkish plane on Monday

Turkey said on Monday Syrian forces had fired towards a Turkish military transport plane involved in a search for an F-4 reconnaissance jet shot down by Syria last week, but the second aircraft was not brought down.

The disclosure of the second incident came on the eve of a NATO crisis meeting that Turkey summoned to address the shooting down of its F-4 jet, which Ankara has described as an unprovoked attack in international airspace.

Despite deep frustration among many NATO countries over the conflict in Syria, where the opposition says President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on an increasingly armed popular uprising has killed 14,000 people, it’s highly unlikely the military alliance will take armed action against the Arab state.

The unarmed RF-4E reconnaissance jet was shot down a mile (1.6 kilometres) inside international airspace on Friday, and two Turkish pilots are still missing, the Turkish government says.

Syria has officially acknowledged shooting down the F-4 phantom jet after it violated its airspace, but insists it only identified it as a Turkish fighter after the fact.

“What happened was an accident and not an assault as some like to say,” Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told the Al-Watan pro-government daily on Sunday.

“Turkish Jet, which was downed by Syrian forces, had violated Syrian airspace.” the Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdissi said Monday.
He added that Syria “could take positive steps if the Turkish government takes similar steps.”

Syrian FM spokesman also indicated “The rescue efforts are underway with the coordination of all sides. We found the wreckage of the jet and Turkey was informed about it.”

But Turkey said that the incident would “not go unpunished” but it did not intend to go to war over it.