Rasmussen repeats promist to defend Turkey

In an interview with EU Observer magazine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the alliance would only take action against Syria if Turkey is attacked. Stating that NATO is not the police of the world, Rasmussen said NATO was indeed disturbed by the human rights violations in Syria, but protecting the members of the alliance was more important than human rights. Rasmussen said NATO was not going in because the UN has not asked it to, adding that even the Syrian opposition has not called on the international community to intervene militarily. Stating that the deployment of Patriot missiles serves as an effective deterrent and to de-escalate the situation along the border because the Syrians know they shouldn't even think of attacking Turkey, Rasmussen said that NATO stood ready to do what it takes to ensure the effective defense and protection of Turkey.