Originally Posted by
ShotOne
Really kitbag? Even assuming the Su24 did briefly enter Turkish airspace, by any measure, deliberately firing a missile to destroy an aircraft in another countries sovereign airspace is surely a much greater violation?
It wasn't just the airspace incursion. It was the repeated warnings, and previous incursions. The Turks, for all that this incident saddens me deeply, are well within their rights to secure their borders and their airspace, and I think that they can make the case that they have given ample warning not just during this event, but during other incursions within the past few months.
Not to mention, they knocked down a Syrian jet within the last few months near their airspace.
I find it interesting that the Turks refer to the jet as of unknown nationality, which means that they could argue that they thought it was Syrian ... but with the F-16 there ... how bout a VID and figure out what nation's marking are on the aircraft?
Hmmm, lots of messiness in this business. To answer one of the questions, I think that the Russians were attacking a group that is supported by Turkey, that isn't ISIS, and is opposed to Assad. As ever, this whole thing's a bloody mess.