Deepest Condolences

Syria sends its "deepest condolences" to the families of the victims in the Turkish border town of Alkcakale where a mortar bomb sent over the border into Turkey by Syrian regime military took the life of a woman, her sister-in-law and her three children.  More casualties of a brutal civil war.  This time the dead are Turkish citizens.

Turkey has responded by bringing armoured vehicles to the bombed town with its gun turrets turned purposefully toward the border.  It has itself now, after its parliament authorized military operations outside its borders, shelled Syrian military emplacements, taking the lives of two regime soldiers. 

The United Nations is aghast; UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed at the escalation of border tensions between two former good friends.  Turkey is not alone in suffering cross-border incursions of lethal dimensions, since Lebanon too has borne its own violent skirmishes pouring over the border.

But here is Syria through its Ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari assuring whoever will listen that this was all a dreadful mishap and sending good wishes not only to the families of the victims: "and to the friendly and brotherly people of Turkey".  Who should really know that their government in Ankara has made a quite bad decision in supporting the opposition forces.

The Government of Syria's Bashar al-Assad hasn't quite apologized for the shelling; it awaits the results of an investigation.  He hasn't said Turkey had it coming, but something close to it.  Urging Turkey and its other neighbours to "act wisely, rationally and responsibly".  Which translates to the prevention of cross-border infiltration of "terrorists and insurgents" - and the smuggling of arms.

Turkey and the United Nations have been assured that the "Syrian government is keenly interested in maintaining good neighbourly relations with Turkey".  And how can they, when Turkey is behaving so irrationally as to support the violent regime-changing ambitions of the Rebel Free Syrian Army? 

"The Syrian government is not seeking any escalation with any of its neighbours, including Turkey."  On the other hand, the Turkish people should know that their government's policies "are wrong and have been wrong since the beginning of the crisis."