From Adrian Croft, Reuters:  NATO’s secretary-general on Monday rejected charges by Iran’s armed forces chief that the Western alliance was risking a world war with plans to put Patriot anti-missile systems near Turkey’s border with Syria, saying the move was purely defensive. . . .

"I completely denounce these (Iranian) allegations. We have made clear right from the outset that the deployment of Patriots is a purely defensive measure," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference after talks with Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. "We are there to defend and protect our ally Turkey. We have no offensive intentions whatsoever."

Rasmussen said he believed the only people who might be concerned about NATO’s pending 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," he said.  (photo: AFP)

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