Free Republic

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said he wished that countries still supporting the Syrian regime would draw lessons from the "civilized event" in Egypt and allow their own people to practice democracy. "Egypt and the Arab world have lived extraordinary historic moments in the past two days with President Mohammad Mursi taking the presidency, ushering in a new era and a new stage," Jumblatt said in his weekly article to be published by the PSP's weekly newspaper Al-Anbaa. "If a lesson is to be drawn from this it is that injustice cannot last indefinitely. I wish that some states...

PICTURE: TAI rolls out Turkey's first Hurkus trainer Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has rolled out its first manned aircraft design in Ankara, with the Hurkus trainer expected to make its flight debut in April 2013. Tolga Ozbek Launched in 2006 and supported by 27 Turkish companies, the $150 million Hurkus programme covers the manufacture of four prototypes - two flight-test examples and two aircraft for static testing. TAI has worked on the design of three variants so far, including a civilian-targeted Hurkus A, a B-model military trainer and a C-variant close air support design. Powered by a 1,600hp (1,180kW) Pratt...

urkey has scrambled six F-16 fighter jets near its border with Syria after Syrian helicopters came close to the border, the country's army says. Six jets were sent to the area in response to three such incidents on Saturday, the statement said, adding that there was no violation of Turkish airspace. Last month, Syrian forces shot down a Turkish jet in the border area. The incident further strained already tense relations between former allies. Turkey's government has been outspoken in its condemnation of Syria's response to the 16-month anti-government uprising, which has seen more than 30,000 Syrian refugees enter Turkey....

Russian energy giant Gazprom issued a brief statement on June 29 which actually touches on many political problems in the greater geography surrounding Turkey. It said that the company is ready to send more gas to Turkey if necessary, but from 2018 on Turkey could ask help from Azerbaijan as well. Reuters got it right when it called the statement a threat; a threat to both Turkey and Azerbaijan. The date the Russian company named, 2018, is the planned completion date for the TANAP (Trans-Anatolian) pipeline, which will carry Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe, a $7 billion project which was...

Turkey-Syria relations have entered a new stage after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish F-4 fighter jet on June 22 in international waters over the Mediterranean Sea. Syria claimed that the Turkish jet violated Syrian airspace, but Turkey protested that its aircraft was in Syrian airspace for only a brief time and left after just two minutes. Thirteen minutes after the Turkish plane exited Syrian airspace, Syria’s air defense forces shot down the jet. Its two pilots are still missing (TRT, June 24). Turkey considered the Syrian aggression to be an attack against Turkey and claimed that Syria has become...

The Assad regime has massed approximately 170 tanks near the Turkish border, according to an unconfirmed report on Friday by a general in the Free Syrian Army. General Mustafa al-Sheikh told Reuters that the tanks are now located 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border, northeast of Aleppo. "They either want to move toward the border to confront Turkish troops stationed there, or they are planning to attack rebels in towns near the border," al-Sheikh said. The move comes after Turkey on Thursday sent anti-aircraft guns, rocket launchers and other fortifications to the border, marking an escalation in hostilities between...

The boy cried "Wolf." Turkey's Prime Minister cried "NATO!" On June 24, following Syria's downing of a Turkish Air Force reconnaissance jet, the Turkish government called for a NATO treaty Article 4 consultation. Article 4 says NATO allies will "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security" of any NATO ally is threatened. An Article 4 consultation sends several grim diplomatic signals. In Turkey's case, it demonstrates that Ankara believes the complex security threat it faces requires alliance action. Syrian military attacks are only one facet of the threat. Terrorist attacks...

Israeli F-16i (Illustration Only) flash 90 A Syrian minister on Wednesday was quoted as saying his country's forces may have mistaken the Turkish plane they shot down for an Israeli one. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told the Turkish news channel A Haber in a telephone interview that Damascus did "not want a crisis between Turkey and Syria." Al-Zoebi said Turkish and Israeli fighter jets were mostly US-made, which may have led the Syrian forces to mistake it for an Israeli jet. However, military observers note that Israel retired its last F-4 Phantom jet – the type of jet shot...

If the Administration had wanted to make the point the Israel is a valued partner in counterterrorism activities, it could have insisted that Israel be there or else moved the meeting. In light of increased sensitivity to intelligence leaks, it seemed innocuous – or even admirable – when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) asked the Senate to remove a few words from the US-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act: the "sense of the Senate" part of the bill included the sentence, "Expand already close intelligence cooperation, including satellite intelligence, with the Government of Israel;" ODNI wanted the...

"We live in a real state of war from all angles," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told his cabinet on Tuesday... "When we are in a war, all policies and all sides and all sectors need to be directed at winning this war." ... "Any military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria ... will be regarded as a threat and treated as a military target," said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan... Tuesday also saw Russia enter the war of words, albeit with a call for calm and restraint. Russia's Foreign Ministry said the loss of Turkey's jet should not...

BEIRUT (AP) - Turkey warned Syria on Tuesday to keep its forces away from the countries' troubled border or risk an armed response - a furious reply to the downing of a Turkish military plane last week by the Damascus regime. NATO backed up Turkey and condemned Syria for shooting down the plane but stopped short of threatening military action, reflecting its reluctance to get involved in a conflict that could ignite a broader war. Near the capital of Damascus, meanwhile, Syria's elite Republican Guard forces battled rebels in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces since...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday that his country, in the grips of an anti-regime uprising now in its 16th month, is in a “real situation of war.” “We are witnessing a real situation of war,” the state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling a meeting of the new Syrian cabinet. However, he insisted that “when one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory.” Meanwhile, AFP reported, the United States on Tuesday said that a “desperate” Assad was slowly losing his grip on power, citing recent defections of...

Turkey dubs Syria 'a clear threat', vows to retaliate AFPAFP – 3 hrs ago Turkey branded its former ally Syria "a clear and imminent threat," on Tuesday as its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vented his fury over the downing of a Turkish fighter jet. In his most outspoken criticism of the Damascus regime, Erdogan vowed to retaliate against the "heinous act" and promised a change of military attitude to any Syrian officer approaching the common border. "The rules of engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces have changed given this new development," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament following...

Turkey has deployed a large number of military vehicles to the Syrian border.

The White House on Monday promised to work with Turkey and other NATO allies to hold Syria "accountable" for what American officials have described as the deliberate downing of a Turkish military jet, apparently in international airspace. Turkey said it would push NATO, whose governing body meets Tuesday to discuss the matter, to consider the June 22 incident an attack on the entire alliance. Under Article V of NATO's founding document, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. "We stand in solidarity with Turkey, a key U.S. ally," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force...

At this point even those who have never heard of the Gulf of Tonkin know where this is headed: SYRIAN ACT 'WON'T GO UNPUNISHED,' TURKEY'S ARINC SAYSSYRIAN ACT 'HOSTILE,' 'COLD-BLOODED,' ARINC SAYSSYRIA SHOT DOWN TURKISH JET WITHOUT WARNING, NULAND SAYSTURKEY INVOKED ARTICLES 4 & 5 FOR NATO MEETING, ARINC SAYSTURKEY TO PROCEED AGAINST SYRIA USING LEGAL RIGHTS, ARINC SAYSTURKISH JET SHOT DOWN IN INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE, ARINC SAYS And yet: TURKISH JET 'MISTAKENLY' ENTERED SYRIAN AIRSPACE, ARINC SAYSTURKISH JET WAS IN SYRIAN AIRSPACE ONLY 5 MINUTES, ARINC SAYS Just the tip, eh? And finally this, which makes it all too...

Syria has attempted to shoot down a second Turkish aircraft searching for missing pilots, Ankara announced Monday. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told a news conference the Turkish plane, which was searching for the jet that was shot down last week, was not damaged in the incident. He met with reporters following a seven hour cabinet meeting that focused on Syria's attack last week on Turkey's war plane. The F-4 reconnaissance aircraft was allegedly shot down while still technically in international air space near the border with Syria – about 13 nautical miles away, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet...

Turkey says future visa-free travel will work out well because Turks no longer want to live in the EU. (Turkey's) European affairs minister Egemen Bağış told EUobserver on Friday (22 June) that Turks these days travel to EU capitals "to spend [money]" in shops and hotels. "In the past, when Turks were asked do you want to live in Europe, 80 percent would say Yes. Now, 85 percent say No. Turkish citizens feel there is more hope in Turkey; better job opportunities," he said. He noted that in 2010, 27,000 Turks went to live in Germany, but 35,000 German citizens...

Today, Turkey hosts an estimated 90 B61 gravity bombs at Incirlik Air Base. Fifty of these bombs are reportedly assigned for delivery by U.S. pilots, and forty are assigned for delivery by the Turkish Air Force. However, no permanent nuclear-capable U.S. fighter wing is based at Incirlik, and the Turkish Air Force is reportedly not certified for NATO nuclear missions, meaning nuclear-capable F-16s from other U.S. bases would need to be brought in if Turkey's bombs were ever needed.

Turkey says Syrian forces have shot down one of its air force jets. After a two-hour security meeting, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said the warplane that disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea Friday was shot down by Syria. The statement said the two pilots remain missing. The prime minister's office said Turkey will decide on how to respond to the incident but did not elaborate. Turkey has joined nations such as the U.S. in saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down because of the uprising in his country. Meanwhile, U.N. Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan told reporters...