Upon detection of Syrian Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters as close as four miles to the border, Turkey scrambled six F-16 Falcons in three separate incidents yesterday. No combat ensued and no actual airspace violations occurred. But, this is no doubt an effort to test the response time of Turkish air defense as well as Turkish resolve to back up their stated intent to engage hostile threats near the border. The Mi-8 & 17 is the same basic aircraft, except that the Mi-8 variant is also used for command & control and electronic warfare. The Mi-17 is the primary export version of the transport/gunship variant. Both aircraft are Russian built.
These actions have the mark of classic Russian brinkmanship. During the 1948 Berlin Airlift, Soviet fighters would fly at Allied transport aircraft as if preparing to line them up to shoot them down only to suddenly turn away at the last moment. The Soviets practiced similar tactics at sea toward US & NATO warships throughout the Cold War.
In a coincidental development, Britain's Sunday Times reported 'diplomatic sources' as saying that Russians may in fact have shot down the Turkish RF-4E or were in command of the Syrian unit which did. This follows a claim by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia has 'objective data' on the circumstances of the shoot down, which they are 'ready to share'. It is noteworthy that Mr. Lavrov did not say the data was 'Syrian' data, or in any way obtained from the Syrians.
If Russians executed the shoot down in any fashion, this would only have been done either because Turkey or NATO was on to something and sent the RF-4E to confirm it and/or, because President Putin wanted to send a clear message to NATO not to think about any Libya style intervention or establishment of no fly zones. Russian command & control of the shoot down would also explain Britain's expressed support for 'robust action' which has now been elevated by Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague calling for a UN Security Council resolution to permit military intervention in Syria, effectively calling Mr. Putin's bluff.
A Russian presence in Syria exercising command control over forces able to project lethal force outside of Syria's borders and on the southern flank of a NATO member nation, would by its very nature elevate Syria from being a local issue to a NATO issue and necessitate that a close eye be focused on such activities by NATO surveillance assets.
If that has been the case then it is likely that the Turkish RF-4E was on a mission with the full knowledge and consent of senior NATO officials. Since, if Russia had already intervened against the Syrian rebels while at the same time holding a veto ax at the neck of any UN Security Council resolution, then it would expose Russian duplicity and hand NATO justification to act without seeking UN approval via an obviously corrupted process. Putin would then be faced with the choice of backing down and risk losing the Russian naval base in Syria or risking a proxy war with NATO in Syria.
For now is seems that NATO may be holding open a door for Russia to make a quiet exit from Syria without being exposed to the world as enabling Basher Assad's massacres in Syria. If that is the case and Putin doesn't exit quietly, the next thing we may see is a UN Security Council session with evidence of Russian dirty deeds in Syria being briefed by Britains Mr. Hague.
Turkey scrambles F-16's to Syrian border - Arlington Foreign Policy | Examiner.com
These actions have the mark of classic Russian brinkmanship. During the 1948 Berlin Airlift, Soviet fighters would fly at Allied transport aircraft as if preparing to line them up to shoot them down only to suddenly turn away at the last moment. The Soviets practiced similar tactics at sea toward US & NATO warships throughout the Cold War.
In a coincidental development, Britain's Sunday Times reported 'diplomatic sources' as saying that Russians may in fact have shot down the Turkish RF-4E or were in command of the Syrian unit which did. This follows a claim by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia has 'objective data' on the circumstances of the shoot down, which they are 'ready to share'. It is noteworthy that Mr. Lavrov did not say the data was 'Syrian' data, or in any way obtained from the Syrians.
If Russians executed the shoot down in any fashion, this would only have been done either because Turkey or NATO was on to something and sent the RF-4E to confirm it and/or, because President Putin wanted to send a clear message to NATO not to think about any Libya style intervention or establishment of no fly zones. Russian command & control of the shoot down would also explain Britain's expressed support for 'robust action' which has now been elevated by Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague calling for a UN Security Council resolution to permit military intervention in Syria, effectively calling Mr. Putin's bluff.
A Russian presence in Syria exercising command control over forces able to project lethal force outside of Syria's borders and on the southern flank of a NATO member nation, would by its very nature elevate Syria from being a local issue to a NATO issue and necessitate that a close eye be focused on such activities by NATO surveillance assets.
If that has been the case then it is likely that the Turkish RF-4E was on a mission with the full knowledge and consent of senior NATO officials. Since, if Russia had already intervened against the Syrian rebels while at the same time holding a veto ax at the neck of any UN Security Council resolution, then it would expose Russian duplicity and hand NATO justification to act without seeking UN approval via an obviously corrupted process. Putin would then be faced with the choice of backing down and risk losing the Russian naval base in Syria or risking a proxy war with NATO in Syria.
For now is seems that NATO may be holding open a door for Russia to make a quiet exit from Syria without being exposed to the world as enabling Basher Assad's massacres in Syria. If that is the case and Putin doesn't exit quietly, the next thing we may see is a UN Security Council session with evidence of Russian dirty deeds in Syria being briefed by Britains Mr. Hague.
Turkey scrambles F-16's to Syrian border - Arlington Foreign Policy | Examiner.com
