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According to former UN Permanent Representative to NATO Kurt Volker, Article V gives NATO countries a chance to consult with one another on possible responses. It doesn't automatically suggest a military one.
"A response could be anything from a statement reiterating the inviolability of security guarantees to members coordinating activities so that they can respond to further attacks on Turkish interests."
Volker doesn't think Friday's incident justifies war. At the same time, the ball advanced closer to initiating it without Security Council authorization.
One way would be by creating Syrian "safe zones," providing greater opposition support, and conducting air strikes against strategic military sites.
"I do get the feeling," he added, "that the patience of the international community is growing thinner.""I think we may be approaching a point at which this kind of coalition intervention is more thinkable than it was a couple of months ago."
Atlantic Council managing editor James Joyner also doesn't believe Friday's incident justifies war.
"It would be one thing if Syria sent ground troops into Turkey and started shooting," he said.
In contrast, "shooting down a plane that might have been surveilling Syrian air space is just a different animal than that."
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