NATO to hold emergency session over Russian jet shot down by Turkey

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 08:01:49 -0500

NATO is having a emergency session at the request of Turkey, to discuss Turkey shooting down a Russian jet. The purpose of the meeting is for Turkey to tell NATO about the shooting down of the Russian jet. Turkey asserts that the Russian jet violated Turkey air space while Russia claims this is false. Turkey is not a *founding* member of NATO but is a member of the member Alliance.

Turkey has been at odds with Russia over Russia supporting the Assad regime but had thus far not been at conflict with Russia over it.

This is a very serious event as a way needs to be found between the U.S., Russia, Turkey, France, (England now wants in too) to combat ISIS. I do not call this a way for to attain a coalition purposefully but rather a way to coordinate efforts.

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151124/ [login to see] /nato-meeting-russia-syria-su24-crash.html

NATO Calls Emergency Meeting After Russian Su-24 Downed Over Syria

NATO has called an emergency meeting after Russian Su-24 jet was downed over the Turkish-Syrian border.

Response by COL Sam Russell made Nov 24 at 2015 8:07 AM

COL Sam Russell — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 08:07:12 -0500

Very serious.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Nov 24 at 2015 8:18 AM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 08:18:10 -0500

Things are about to get ugly. This could create a war between Turkey and Russia.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 24 at 2015 8:22 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 08:22:34 -0500

ISIS is going to be the catalyst for WWIII, this is just the begi

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Nov 24 at 2015 8:41 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 08:41:12 -0500

I agree this is a very serious situation. Turkey claims the Russian jet violated Turkish airspace and Russia says it did not. This could rapidly escalate. I would not be surprised if Russia did not conduct a retaliatory air strike against Turkey or put more planes in the same area to entice a confrontation.

Response by SP5 Mark Kuzinski made Nov 24 at 2015 8:41 AM

SP5 Mark Kuzinski — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 08:41:55 -0500

Thanks for the post and this is one event to follow closely

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 24 at 2015 9:51 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 09:51:44 -0500

Who can imagine that a few stupid crazy Muslim can lead to such serious event?? Well ... World War 3 already here ... we just don't want to accept it.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Nov 24 at 2015 9:57 AM

LTC John Shaw — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 09:57:51 -0500

CPT Private RallyPoint Member Best to have a coalition against ISIS/ISIL than argue about which Air Corridor should have been used. Turkey needs to figure out what they want, a fight with Russia should not be on this list. Let's hope that NATO can get Turkey to listen.
We need to all fight ISIS, not each other.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Nov 24 at 2015 10:03 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 10:03:17 -0500

Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952 CPT Private RallyPoint Member
FYI this would not be much of a NATO Issue if Turkey was not a NATO member :-)
There is an incredibly remote possibility that a NATO nation shooting down a Russian jet would lead to war. Granted this is not 1914 and an archduke has not been assassinated.
Turkey has gone through political and religious changes since 1952. The nation became more hardline Islamic over the past 20 years.
My heart goes out to the family of the downed Russian plane pilot(s) because their loss will probably be ignored in all of the brouhaha which erupts from this incident.
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/nato_countries.htm

Member countries

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 24 at 2015 12:31 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:31:42 -0500

Welcome to the impending WWIII!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 24 at 2015 1:15 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 13:15:59 -0500

The Russians have repeatedly violated Turkish airspace since they began operations in Syria, and it is not likely that it is an accident. The Russians are annoyed that they have to fly all the way around Turkey to fly supplies and sorties into Syria, and say "mother may I" to transit the Bosporus. The Turks meanwhile have repeatedly warned against airspace violations, allegedly shooting down a Russian UAV last month. That SU-24 was warned ten times (according to the Turks) before they intercepted it and shot it down.
A little historical subtext:
Russia and Turkey have been historical enemies for a very long time. When the Russians seized Crimea in the first place back in the 1800s, they took it from the Ottoman Empire. What the Russians would just love is to use their newly acquired peninsula as a base to launch flights against ISIS. It is another way for them to assert their will on a neighbor, and solidify their claim on their newly seized territory, The Russians have an excellent memory for history. So do the Turks.
Edit
One other note, the piece of territory that the Russian plane was shot down over, Hayat Province, was only annexed by Turkey from Syria in 1939. Prior to that, it was Ottoman territory up until the end of WWI, when it was included as part of the French protectorate of Lebanon-Syria. Syria has never recognized that territory as belonging to Turkey, so there might be more at work here than meets the casual eye.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 24 at 2015 10:58 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 22:58:32 -0500

With French President Hollande openly seeking partnership with both Russia and the U.S. to defeat ISIS in the wake of the attacks in Paris, I think Putin sees an opportunity to fragment NATO, given Obama's weak public statements and somewhat humorous insistence that any partnership involving Russia is contingent on the removal of Bashir Al Assad from power in Syria. Unlike the U.S., Russia, like France, is a recent victim of ISIS targeting. In the court of World opinion, this gives Putin the opening he has been waiting for to expand Russia's leadership role in the fight against ISIS. When combined with France's renewed focus on aggressive operations in the fight against ISIS, Obama's calls to stay the course with his fictitious coalition of 65 nations appears laughable; even more so as news emerges that the U.S. has provided France vital ISIS targets that it has been apparently sitting on for well over a year and as accounts of U.S. pilots involved in strikes against ISIS targets frequently were denied authorization to engage and destroy ISIS targets, often returning to base with 75% or more of their munitions unexpended.

Yes, Putin is again playing his brand of strategic chess. He knows of the coalition's difficulties in getting Turkey to take an active role in supporting actions against ISIS, and he now may have parlayed this into a moment of truth for both the Obama Administration and the Government of Turkey, exposing a rift that may soon be impossible to continue to gloss over. This will cause ripples across NATO, further highlight the failures of U.S. foreign policy, and place Putin in a position of strength as he negotiates the future of the fight against ISIS.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 26 at 2015 7:46 AM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 07:46:59 -0500

Thanks for the info. Interested to see where this leads. Do we side with NATO or the super power with a fractured relationship at this point?