The United States has agreed to send two Patriot missile
batteries and 400 soldiers to Turkey in order to defend against missiles coming
over the Syrian border.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed an order
Friday to deploy the Patriots and soldiers at undisclosed locations in Turkey,
Panetta spokesman George Little told reporters flying with the Defense
secretary from Afghanistan to Turkey, according to The Associated
Press.
Turkey requested the Patriot missiles from NATO last month
following several instances in which Syrian shells landed in Turkish territory, including
one
incident in October that left five Turkish soldiers dead.
Germany and the Netherlands have also agreed to send two Patriot
missile batteries each to Turkey. The German parliament
approved
the move Friday in a 461-86 vote.
NATO has said that the move of the Patriot missiles near the
Syrian-Turkish border is a move for defensive purposes only and that they are not
being used
to establish a no-fly zone.
Panetta was asked by an airman at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey whether the Syrians would react negatively to Patriot missiles being deployed on the border.
"I don't think they have the damn time to worry," Panetta said, according to the AP, because Syrian President Bashar Assad is struggling to hold onto power as his forces battle the opposition.
