At long last, the missiles designed to protect Turkey's cities from Syrian missile attack are going on line:
NATO says the first of six missile defense batteries sent to Turkey to intercept possible rockets fired from Syria is operational.
The alliance says the Patriot missile battery went "under command and control" in the southern city of Adana Saturday. The first battery was a Dutch unit.
The missiles are far enough back from the border that they could not stop Syrian air and missile units from striking targets inside Syria.
They could be moved forward, of course, if needed. Remember, the Syrians have said that they'd only use chemical weapons against invaders--that is, if Syria has any chemical weapons, which they deny having--and that the Turks would need to take the lead in sending in conventional forces if Assad's army collapses and chemical depots and production facilities are left open to theft. That would qualify as an invasion, I assume.
