Posted on 05/31/2010 12:27:57 PM PDT by worst-case scenario
BRUSSELS: NATO will hold emergency talks on Tuesday at Turkey's behest after the deadly Israeli raid on a flotilla of aid-carrying ships bound for Gaza, spokesman James Appathurai said.
"Planning is underway for a meeting... at the request of the Turkish authorities tomorrow afternoon," Appathurai said. The talks will gather ambassadors from the 28 NATO member countries at its Brussels HQ.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Santiago, Chile, that his government was demanding the NATO council gather to address a crisis that has already seen Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a visit to Canada and Washington where he had been due to meet with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
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Article 6 makes it even plainer: an attack that occurs in the Mediterranean Ocean upon a vessel of one of the member states is considered an "armed attack" demanding a NATO response.
So....whom do you think they will say attacked whom?
Why is a NATO member trying to run a blockade?
Iran and Turkey looking for a way to get 0bamao what he wants? Israel attacked? Dead Jews? World War III?
No Muzzies should be allowed in NATO. Turkey instigated this and Israel is a far better ally than Turkey.
Does NATO hold emergency meetings when the jockeys fire rockets and missiles into Israel? Just curious.
Israel has every right to demand ships delivering supplies to Gaza, do it in accordance with their guidelines.
Israel could enter Gaza and take it over. It has shown extreme restraint, in light of the terrorist attacks on it’s citizens from Gaza. In this instance, it’s not denying the aid go to Gaza, merely that it be able to make sure contraband is not a factor.
So if NATO wants to go apoplectic, it should realize that one or more of it’s members committed an act of war against Israel in the first place.
You can’t arm terrorist territories with impunity. Israel asked the captain of this ship to adhere to certainl guidelines. The captain refused.
Who was the real aggressor here? It wasn’t Israel.
So who is NATO going to attack, the nations who tried to circumvent a blockade? Go for it boys. IMO, the nations who allowed these ships to leave their ports without abiding by a blockade in a war zone deserve what they got, and more.
Turks Greeks and Italians were openly invading israeli territory.
If this contines it looks like those bunker busters Israel wanted may finally get delivered. The only problem is they may get dropped over their heads :-(
Evidently one of the ships was Swedish too. I believe there was another (NATO) nation involved, possibly two. Is NATO now claiming it can arm Gaza if it wants to, and do so with impunity?
What does the NATO Charter say about being attacked while attempting to run a clearly designated blockade??
Israel has made no secret about the existence of this blockade, and the only people who would deliberately set out to run it know full well what they are doing, and not only expected a response from the Israelis, they did everything they could to provoke as violent a response as possible.
NATO will hear what the Turks have to say but there is no way that NATO is going to jump into this one. If Turkey doesn’t like that it would be no loss to NATO if they withdrew.
I don’t honestly think the citizens of this nation would stand by and watch our military go against Israel. You’d see an uprising the likes of which this nation has never seen.
They got it. And they'll probably get exactly the sort of publicity they wanted, too. Israel may well have made a bad decision here.
It will go badly for Israel if it turns out that there were no weapons or the like aboard these ships.
If, on the other hand, there were weapons or the passengers can be shown to be bad apples... then Israel had best get them on display as quickly as possible.
What does the NATO Charter say about being attacked while attempting to run a clearly designated blockade??
Israel has made no secret about the existence of this blockade, and the only people who would deliberately set out to run it know full well what they are doing, and not only expected a response from the Israelis, they did everything they could to provoke as violent a response as possible.
NATO will hear what the Turks have to say but there is no way that NATO is going to jump into this one. If Turkey doesn’t like that it would be no loss to NATO if they withdrew.
“For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:
on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France (2), on the territory of or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;
on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.”
I don’t honestly think the citizens of this nation would stand by and watch our military go against Israel. You’d see an uprising the likes of which this nation has never seen.
They better “find” weapons, which might be there. Hard to say. Could be one of the most stupid things they’ve done. Would normalize Hamas’ acts.
The stupidest is not to get out video and stories about the so-called “blockade’s” effect in Gaza. From what I’ve seen and read, it Gaza is under no scarcity and is doing well, from UN and NGO welfare in part no doubt.
I’ve suspected since Obama’s election that he and his fellow travelers would try to turn Israel into a Serbia II. His challenge has been to get a sufficient number of US citizens and members of Congress to support it or to look the other way.
Before the interception event, I was thinking that it would be good long-term planning on the part of the Palis to have NO weapons on board and make the flotilla strictly humanitarian. They could do it for a couple of trips, relaxing the Israelis, showing humanitarian intent, and thus making it harder for Israeli surveillance and interdiction. But, no.... they're Palis. Even if nothing is found on board, they had to make a big, near lethal fuss--so peaceful intent couldn't be demonstrated (or more accurately, faked) for the first flotiila.
Would you sit by and let it happen, unchallenged?
I don’t think you would. I don’t think other people would either.
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