Erdogan Makes Request for NATO Review of Syrian Shoot-down of Jet

Calling it a “serious threat to peace and security in the region,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a formal request for a NATO review of last week’s incident in which a Turkish F-4 fighter jet was shot down by Syrian forces. Notably absent from the Erdogan letter was any demand for any specific action to be taken against the Syrians. The only other time the same article of the NATO treaty was invoked to summon a meeting on the grounds of a security threat to a member nation was also by Turkey, prior to the Iraq war. Experts say the session will be an opportunity for Erdogan to vent in a formal international setting, albeit without any apparent threat of retaliation. On Monday, Turkey accused Syria of shooting at one of its search planes that was looking for the wreckage of the downed jet. Turkey does not deny its plane strayed across the Syrian border, but because it is a normal occurrence, many observers believe the shoot-down was a well-planned message intended to alert the Western nations – and Israel — to the current proficiency of Russian military technology.