“We should also carefully and collectively consider how NATO is prepared to respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat,” he said during the first NATO foreign ministers meeting.

It was the first time Israel had accused the embattled Syrian leader of using his stockpile of chemical weapons.

Despite the deteriorating situation, NATO says there is no chance the alliance will intervene in the civil war.

It has, though, sent Patriot missile batteries to neighboring Turkey to help defend the NATO member against possible missile attack from Syria.

“Since we last met in December, the situation in Syria has dramatically deteriorated. We are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation and the daily suffering of the Syrian people. We are extremely concerned about the risk of a regional spill-over. Our Ally Turkey has faced cross-border incidents and massive refugee flows. And we are extremely concerned about the use of ballistic missiles in Syria and the possible use of chemical weapons,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

“There is no call for NATO to play a role. But if these challenges remain unaddressed, they could directly affect our own security. So we will continue to remain extremely vigilant.”

More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict, according to the United Nations.

The violence also has forced more than 1 million Syrians to seek safety abroad, burdening neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

Syria’s ambassador to the league, Youssef Ahmad, accused the League of replacing a legitimate state with a “monstrosity,” Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

He indicated that the practices of the Arab League regarding the crisis in Syria since its beginning haven’t been related to its charter or its internal system or the principles of the joint Arab work as well as the interests of the national security.

Syria’s membership was suspended in November 2011.

Speaking at the opening session Foreign Minister Davutoğlu pointed out that the Summit marks the beginning of a new chapter in the quest of a free, democratic and prosperous Syria.

“It represents a historic milestone as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people today have rightfully taken the seat of their country in the Arab League”, he added.

Meanwhile, Syrian National Coalition leader Khatib in addressing the summit in Doha said that he had asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to provide Patriot missile protection that covers northern Syria, and that Kerry had “promised to look into the matter.”

The White House said Tuesday that NATO would not provide Patriot missile batteries to protect rebel strongholds in Syria, AFP reported.

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

Even though al-Kahtib resigned from the coalition due to lack of support from the international community for help in ending the nation’s bloody conflict the Coalition hasn’t accepted his resignation.

NATO’s  involvement in Syria’s war until now has been to position Patriot missile batteries along the Turkish border in order to prevent any  missile launches from the Syrian side. their purpose is solely for self defense.

The situation along NATO’s south-eastern border and the repeated violations of Turkey’s territory raise grave concern, NATO foreign ministers said in a statement.

Ministers declared their determination to deter threats to, and defend, Turkey. They welcomed the intention of Germany, the Netherlands and the United States to provide Patriot missile batteries, subject to their respective national procedures. Once deployed, the systems will be under the operational command of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR).

“Turkey has asked for NATO’s support, and we stand with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a press conference.

“To the Turkish people we say: we are determined to defend you and your territory. To anyone who would want to attack Turkey we say don’t even think about it”, he said.

The Secretary General stressed that the deployment will be defensive only, will in no way support a no-fly zone or any offensive operation and will contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the Alliance’s border.

The agreement follows consultations in the framework of Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty held at Turkey’s request. The North Atlantic Council will regularly assess the developing situation and the implementation of deployment.

“NATO’s ultimate task is the protection and defence of our members. Today, we underline once again our steadfast commitment to the security of this Alliance and our full solidarity and resolve to protect our populations and territories,” Mr Rasmussen underlined.

Mr Rasmussen said that NATO Foreign ministers unanimously expressed grave concern over reports that the Syrian regime may be considering the use of chemical weapons and underlined that any such action would be completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international law.

Three guards at a U.S. base near the airport outside the Afghan city of Jalalabad and two civilians were reported killed in a suicide attack by Taliban militants.

Nine militants also were reported to have been killed in the incident, which began when attackers detonated explosives and fired rockets, reported RFERL (Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty) today.

There are unconfirmed reports that some of the militants may have been wearing Afghan Army uniforms.

The Afghan officials said the first four attackers had arrived in explosive-laden cars and targeted different entrances to the airfield early on Sunday, others who had followed on foot battled security guards.

A spokesman for the NATO-led international coalition in Afghanistan said an undetermined number of NATO troops were wounded in the attack.

BBC’s reporter Orla Guerin in Kabul said the attack appeared “co-ordinated and complex”. She added that this was not the first time the Taliban had targeted the air base, which is used by US and Nato forces. In February Taliban killed nine people in a similar attack.

The insurgents have been battling Nato and Afghan troops for 11 years and still control parts of the east and south.

A suicide bomber has killed at least 41 people when he struck at a mosque in northern Afghanistan after Eid al-Adha prayers on Friday; dozens more were wounded as the bomb ripped through the crowd of worshippers in Maymana city in Faryab province and there are fears the death toll could rise.

The United Nations top political envoy for Afghanistan today condemned the suicide bomb attack: “This heinous attack at a mosque, killing and injuring Afghan civilians as they celebrated the Eid-al-Adha religious festival has no justification, and should be condemned by all in the strongest possible terms,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš.

Northern Afghanistan was relatively peaceful until now. The Taliban, who were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, used to concentrate their operations in the south and east of the country. But they have recently stepped up their activities in the north, despite the presence of more than 100,000 NATO troops in the country.

Mosques are protected places under international humanitarian law, which strictly prohibits attacks against both civilians and civilian objects, including places of worship, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted in a news release.

UNAMA also stated that suicide attacks that fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants are prohibited, but continue to be used by anti-government elements; representatives of the organization went on to express condolences to the families of those killed, and wishes of a speedy recovery for all those injured.

“These illegal and indiscriminate suicide attacks that kill and injure many Afghan civilians must stop,” Mr. Kubiš added. “Such attacks are completely unacceptable and those responsible are fully accountable for the deaths and injuries of civilians caused by their brutal acts.”

“We have all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary,” Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters before a meeting of the alliance’s defence ministers in Brussels.

Rasmussen applauded the Turkish government for its restraint, saying he hoped the parties would avoid an escalation of the crisis.

“Obviously Turkey has a right to defend herself within international law,” he said.

The two neighbours have repeatedly exchanged fire since last week, after Syrian shells struck a border town in Turkey killing five civilians.

The incident has been the most serious outbreak of cross-border violence since Syria’s uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted 18 months ago.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, in addressing parliament on the issue on Tuesday, said that his country does not want war, but that Turkey needs to be prepared for anything

Meanwhile, Turkey has confirmed it is deploying more fighter jets to an airbase close to the border with Syria, amid artillery exchanges along its tense southeastern border with Syria.

Rebels have taken control of the strategic town of Maarat al-Nuaman, which lies on the main north-south highway in the northern province of Idlib, after a 48-hour battle with soldiers, according to rebels and activists.

At the same time, rebel suicide bombers struck overnight at an Air Force Intelligence compound on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, killing at least 100 people, activists said on Tuesday.

The militant Islamist group al-Nusra Front said it had mounted the attack because it was used a centre for torture and repression in the crackdown on the 18-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reports.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence, said 90 people had been killed so far on Tuesday, including 29 soldiers, compared to a death toll of 210 on Monday, Al Jazeera writes.

Some 320 deputies cast votes in favor of the motion, while 129 voted against it.

The Turkish Parliament debated a cross-border motion brought by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, daily Hürriyet has reported.

Ibrahim Kalin, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, said on his Twitter account  earlier that Turkey had no interest in a war with Syria but would protect its borders.

“Turkey has no interest in a war with Syria. But Turkey is capable of protecting its borders and will retaliate when necessary,” according to the post on twitter.

The authorization of foreign deployment came after Turkish troops renewed shelling on targets in Syria on Thursday morning in reprisal for cross-border fire that killed five Turkish civilians the previous day, a security source told AFP.

Turkey has demanded that the UN Security Council take action against Damascus after Wednesday’s attack, which saw mortar fire from Syria kill five Turkish nationals, including a mother and her three children in the town of Akcakale near the Syrian border.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his deepest concern at the incident. “The Secretary-General has repeatedly warned that the ongoing militarization of the conflict in Syria is leading to tragic results for the Syrian people,” the spokesperson said.

It is the first time that Turkish citizens have been killed as a result of fire from its war-torn neighbour, Syria, and led to a sharp escalation of tensions between the former allies.

Relations between Tureky and Syria had already deteriorated when in June Syria shot down a Turkish fighter jet, killing both crewmen.

At the same time, NATO demanded an immediate halt to “aggressive acts” against alliance member Turkey on Wednesday after a Ambassadors from the alliance’s 28 member nations held an emergency late-night meeting at NATO headquarters, at Turkey’s request, to discuss the incident.

The shelling “constitutes a cause of greatest concern for, and is strongly condemned by, all allies”, the NATO ambassadors said in a statement.

“The alliance continues to stand by Turkey and demands the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally, and urges the Syrian regime to put an end to flagrant violations of international law,” the statement added.

“We consider this act to be unacceptable and condemn it in the strongest terms. It is another example of the Syrian authorities’ disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life,” Rasmussen said.

The North Atlantic Council met on Tuesday at Turkey’s request to hold consultations within the framework of Article 4 of the Washington Treaty which states that “the Parties will consult whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”

The North Atlantic Council discussed the shooting down of a Turkish aircraft by Syria.

“Our thoughts at this difficult time are with the missing Turkish aircrew, their families and their loved ones,” Rasmussen added in a statement.

Meanwhile, President Abdullah Gul said today the shooting down of an unarmed Turkish plane by Syria shows the level of paranoia that has gripped the country’s armed forces, according to Hurriyet daily news. 

Gül spoke during the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) summit in Istanbul, where he said Turkey would not tolerate the downing of its plane by Syria.

Syria shot down a Turkish military jet on June 22, escalating tensions between the two countries.

On the other hand, Syria insists that the Turkish aircraft violated its airspace on Friday.

But Turkey says that although the  jet had violated  Syria’s airspace, it was in international airspace when it was shot down.

Erdogan said Syria shot down the unarmed plane in international airspace in a “hostile” act and without warning.

He said border violations in the region were not uncommon, and claimed that Syrian helicopters violated Turkish airspace five times recently, without Turkish response, according to Al Jazeera. 

In a book called ‘PASOK’ [Spourdalakis (ed.), 1998], it is argued that the political / electoral success of the socialist party in the 1980s relied on the fact that it managed to combine a left rhetoric, expressed through populist punch lines that sounded radical (against NATO and the then European Community), with the ability to come up with a governance competence that lasted from 1981 to 2004 (minus the 1989-1993 Mitsotakis administration interval).

Andreas Papandreou managed to combine demagogy with political realism. His legendary statement about the then European Community and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, loosely translated into “EC and NATO, both sides of the same coin” has been a major instrument of demagogy. Later on, PASOK government dismissed the anti-EC arguments that used to mobilise its supporters, started arguing for a Norway-type, special relation with the common market and finally ended up embracing the benefits of EU membership and the subsequent funds coming from the Support Frameworks.

In the last month or so, SYRIZA adopted a similar approach; it tackled May 6 election debate in a populist way, mounting the anti-austerity wave, attracting people from different political wings. Then it transformed its strong anti-EMU rhetoric into a crusade to change the EU, moving beyond the necessities of Greece, thus turning the Greek MoU debate into a debate for the future of Europe; essentially Tsipras avoids appearing specific as regards the core of Greece’s obligations, i.e. the loan agreement and the so-called MoU II. He curses Memorandum policies and promotes a “different route”, just like Andreas Papandreou used to blame the Right and promise the “third road to Socialism”.

Alexis Tsipras’ moves in the last 6 months have been quit effective. He is supported by some brainy political advisors and strategists as well as -rumour has it- Andreas Papandreou’s personal strategist Kostas Laliotis, who, while he issued an announcement to dismiss a right wing newspaper story that referred to his involvement, he appeared very generous in the way he complimented Tsipras’ close associates. It was almost as the leak was planted just to legitimize a meaningful announcement by PASOK’s enfant gâté.

Two weeks before the elections, Alexis Tsipras is turning heavier in his appearance, lowers the voice and stresses his words as an experienced leader, whose crowd keeps increasing. According to all indications, he will spend the remaining pre-election days investing on a leadership profile that will come in handy if the future of the country will be handed to him.

The climax moment could be the television debate with ND leader Antonis Samaras, that -in my opinion- could benefit the young politician, killing all hopes for the centre-right leader. But is seemed that New Democracy’s second thoughts have been wiser than the initial careless call that invited young Alexis to a beauty contest with his senior ND counterpart.

Dr. Demetris Kamaras is the Editor of AlYunaniya.com 

After NATO launching wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an uncontrolled refugee and immigrative stream flooded Greece. At the same time Greece signs a destructive agreement with EU (Dublin II) where Greece is ordered to keep those refugees and immigrants (most of them Muslims) away from the rest of EU. The Muslim population that lived here was not prepared to live what happened after this.

The governments did not take any serious measures to control this flow, either they drew an effective immigrant policy; they were just observing the phenomenon. The result is that today we have hundreds of thousands of wandering souls, people that cannot go back or forth, cannot have a work permit, do not want to stay in Greece, and a Muslim community that is being accused just for being Muslims. The major issues of the Muslims in Greece instantly became part of the immigration problem without any second thought.

Several political parties in order to attract more votes decided to mix two different issues into one: Suddenly the permanent Muslim population has to pay the consequences of the non-existing immigrant policy of Greece. Why really the permanent residents of Athens must go through this? Seems like a collective punishment simply because the uncontrolled refugee stream has Muslim religion. Additionally the populist political parties started to spread Islamophobic threats to the public although Greece has never faced any extreme incident coming from Muslims.

Islam is a religion of 1,8 billion worshippers and was always respectful to the other religions, especially the Greeks should recognize that, since all Christian Orthodox Patriarchs are established and located safely in Muslim Countries since ever. Greece’s human policy on the contrary, is trying to become intolerant of the Muslim residents because the voted governments failed to face the uncontrolled refugee wave that was caused by the NATO wars. A vicious circle with humans in the middle. Humans with values, hopes and success in all walks of life in Greece.

The Muslims of Greece have always offered voluntarily to support the efforts of each government to draw an effective immigration policy. This is not a matter that can be solved by a community alone, especially when this community did not participated in generating this matter. Our country cannot solve this without the full support of EU that is also responsible for this situation. The immigration policy of Greece needs solidarity and common efforts if we really need to have a solution. So far the political world did not work towards the solution, only used vote attracting tricks.

The Muslims of Athens have the right to pray, to marry, to be buried in dignity, as citizens according to our constitution. The effort of the Muslim Association of Greece is the establishment of  a public – official Athens mosque, belonging to the Hellenic democracy with an official academic imam and a Muslim Cemetery that will ensure that the Muslim citizens of Athens, a city of five million people will consider Muslims as equal citizens of this society in all aspects.

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Anna Stamou is responsible for Public Relations at the Muslim Association of Greece and wife of head of the Muslim Association. She studied business administration at Mediterranean College