"Syria vs Turkey" Topic

With the shooting down of the Turkish recon plane, and the current saber rattling..there are some interesting scenarios for what if. A good start for some naval scenarios…Syria has some Soviet frigates and Osa missile boats, as well as some Iranian FAC. The Turks have a much larger navy it seems, but it could make for some good FAC skirmishes between the two….

I wonder if NATO will back Turkey?

If Turkey can convince Syria to attack and/or invade, then NATO will have little choice. I hardly see that as likely, though. Syria is not in much of a position to start a war of aggression with anyone (outside their own borders, anyway) these days.

Doug

Not so much…

Given the scale of the current incident(s), there seems to be little need for any backing, or real support, other than public statements chastising Syria.

To be fair though, it does appear the Turkish jet violated Syrian airspace, so they really have no one but themselves to blame.

If Syria does atack Turkey, it won't be the first time that a beleaguered nation with internal dissent sought foreign adventures to unite the people.
Nor, will it be the last.

Would it be a Bad Thing for a wargamer to wish for these things to happen?

It just makes you realize that there is no such thing as "an unlikely scenario".

I don't think Turkey would need NATO they have a great air force and good navy.

To be fair though, it does appear the Turkish jet violated Syrian airspace, so they really have no one but themselves to blame.

The Turks are claiming the intrusion was accidental, and nonetheless the Syrians shot first and didn't bother with any questions later. So I think the burden of guilt lies more with the Syrians, which failed to either intercept or contact the aircraft before shooting it down. These are IMHO not the actions of a peaceful neighbour.

Damon.

Perhaps they hit it, while it was in their airspace, and it continued flying for a bit, before going down.

That usually happens in shootdowns, due to the jet's forward velocity.

I concur, not the actions of a peaceful neighbor, but neither are air incursions at high speed, by military jets, flying low to avoid radar.

I would agree with Mako – get shot down in somebody else's airspace trhen you've no moral comeback. You shouldn't have been there in the first place.

What if the Syrians feel a bit more emboldened by their Russian, Chinese, and Iranian allies? Thinking that the Turks (or Isrealis) would never strike them with Russian ships in their ports and advisors 'visiting' all their critical military installations.

Aren't they supposed to be scheduling 'wargames' together in Syria some time in the near future?

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Destroy both sides and tell them if they can't play nice, we're taking their toys away.

The Turks have been pretty cavalier with the Iraqi border, when they got a chance to beat up on the kurds in the past few years. I am guessing they are taking the opportunity as it's presenting itself.