Those with Silly Ideas to Use Their Offensive Missiles Are Concerned about Patriots- Rasmussen
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen today denounced charges by
the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces that NATO was risking a world war
with plans to put Patriot anti-missile systems near Turkey's border with Syria.
“I completely denounce these (Iranian) allegations. We have made clear right
from the outset that the deployment of Patriots is a purely defensive measure,”
Mr. Rasmussen told a news conference in Brussels. “We are there to defend and
protect our ally Turkey. We have no offensive intentions whatsoever.” (Reuters,
17 December)
Rasmussen added he believed the only people who might be concerned about
NATO's deployment of Patriot missiles were “actors that might have silly ideas
to use their missile capabilities for offensive purposes.”
“But I hope that the fact that we have deployed Patriot missiles in
Turkey can act as an effective deterrent so that no one would even think about
attacking Turkey,” Rasmussen said.
Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran's army chief of staff, said on
Saturday that deployment of Patriots on Turkish soil was “meant to cause a
world war.”
The
United States, Germany and the Netherlands are sending a total of six Patriot
batteries to Turkey.
File photo: NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Atlantic Council)
File photo: NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Atlantic Council)
