NATO missiles defend Turkey as debate rages over whether the West should intervene in Syria’s civil war

First Lieutenant Arnd de Ruiter commands a Dutch Patriot missile battery which defends southern Turkey from Scud missile attacks from Syria, where Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime is becoming more unpredictable and may have used chemical weapons against his own people.

Photograph by: Matthew Fisher/Postmedia News , Postmedia News

ADANA, Turkey — As bloody as the war inside Syria is, it would suddenly get much bigger and much more complicated politically if a Syrian tactical ballistic missile was to hit Adana, a city of more than two million Turks. Such an attack would immediately draw in the Turks and oblige every NATO country to contribute to Turkey’s defence.

Adana is 140 kilometres away from the Syrian border, as the Scud missile flies. Such rockets can carry chemical weapons which the United States and others suspect have recently been used against Syrians.

via NATO missiles defend Turkey as debate rages over whether the West should intervene in Syria’s civil war.