Syria Rebels Surprised By U.S. Refusal Of Missile Cover

Syria Rebels ‘Surprised’ By U.S. Refusal Of Missile Cover
Mar. 27, 2013 – 04:28PM By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130327/DEFREG04/303270022/Syria-Rebels-8216-Surprised-8217-By-U-S-Refusal-Missile-Cover

DOHA — Syria’s opposition chief said on Wednesday he was “surprised” by a
U.S. decision to reject his demand for NATO to provide Patriot missile
protection for rebel bastions in the country’s north.

“There is an international will that the revolution does not come out
victorious,” Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, head of the National Coalition, said in
Doha, Qatar.

“But the people that have defied injustice and tyranny will not stop,” said
Khatib, who still acts as the head of the coalition despite announcing his
resignation on Sunday.

He told an Arab League summit on Tuesday that he had asked U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry to extend the umbrella provided by Patriot anti-missile
batteries positioned in Turkey to protect rebel-held parts of north Syria.

Khatib said he was waiting for a NATO response, in an address to Arab
leaders after the League gave the opponents of President Bashar al-Assad the
seat of Syria at the 22-member organization.

But the White House reacted swiftly saying that “at this time, NATO does not
intend to intervene militarily in Syria”.

“I think that a Patriot missile battery would follow the definition of
military assistance,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, adding that
Patriot anti-missile batteries in Turkey were for self-defense only.

In Brussels, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday echoed the White
House’s position and said the alliance has “no plans to change the purpose
of the coverage of the deployed Patriot missiles”, despite the opposition
plea.

“We made clear from the outset that this deployment is purely defensive. We
have no offensive intentions. We are there to ensure effective defense and
protections of Turkish people and territory,” Rasmussen told reporters.

“That’s a core task of NATO to protect our allies and we stick to that
declaration that was issued when we decided to deploy.”