Why Would Turkey Shoot Down a Russian Plane?

Turkey warned and then shot down a Russian fighter plane over its territory, and Russia has announced plans to send anti-aircraft missiles to the region. Both nations are intervening in the Syrian civil war, an escalating conflict that has dislocated millions. Russia supports the Assad regime; Turkey, a NATO member, opposes the dictator. The “episode illustrates why it's so hard to get all the foreign powers to aim in the same direction in Syria,” writes Greg Myre for NPR. “Collectively, their firepower far exceeds that possessed by the Islamic State, which is believed to have about 30,000 fighters at most, and no air force. Yet all these outside players have different priorities in Syria.” The United States and Russia established a hotline and conducted an exercise to prevent accidental encounters. Lack of coordination among numerous regional players, though, will prolong the conflict. Countries must pursue diplomatic agreement on battle plans and next steps on governance for Syria, or efforts will go wasted. As Myre concludes, the extremists take advantage of power vacuums. – YaleGlobal