Syria has escalated an already tense relationship with Turkey, its neighbor to the east, by shooting down an Turkish F-4 fighter jet that ventured into its airspace.
Turkey president Abdullah Gul acknowledged that the American-made Turkish jet may have ventured into Syrian air space, but he said it would have been nothing unusual and wouldn’t warrant such a radical reaction by Syria. Of course Syria is in the midst of a violent uprising and many Syrians have suspected that Turkey has been funneling arms to the rebels across the border.
Just last week there were reports that the CIA had been providing arms to Syrian rebels in an attempt by the west to further destabilize the country. Indeed, analysts have surmised that NATO members have already decided that the Syrian government should be changed and thus would be interested in using Turkey, a NATO member, to help take down the Syrian government. If this were true, a foray into Syria by a Turkish fighter jet with NATO backing wouldn’t be that surprising.
Inside Turkey, opposition political forces have also questioned why a Turkish jet would be flying over Syrian airspace, particularly considering how tense matters have become inside Syria with the rebel uprising. No information has been released on the fate of the pilots of the downed jet.
