The puppet 'surprised'

Thursday 28 March 2013

The puppet 'surprised'

Al-Khatib "Surprised" by US Refusal to Deploy Patriot in Syria

Local Editor

The head of the Syrian opposition coalition, Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib said on Wednesday he was “surprised” by a US decision to reject his demand for NATO to provide Patriot missile along the Turkish-Syrian border.

"There is an international will that the revolution does not come out victorious," Khatib, the head of the so-called “National Coalition”, said in Doha, Qatar.

"But the people that have defied injustice and tyranny will not stop," said Khatib, who still acts as the head of the coalition despite announcing his resignation on Sunday.

He told an Arab League summit on Tuesday that he had asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to extend the umbrella provided by Patriot anti-missile batteries positioned in Turkey to “protect” areas controlled by armed groups.

Khatib said he was waiting for a NATO response, in an address to Arab leaders after the League gave the opposition the sea of Syria.
Following Khatib demand, the US refused, saying the NATO was "not intending a military interference in Syria."

In Brussels, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday echoed the White House's position and said the alliance has "no plans to change the purpose of the coverage of the deployed Patriot missiles".