“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all, and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually, and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.  Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the [United Nations] Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.”-Article 5, North Atlantic Treaty creating NATO,  4 April 1949

On 22 June 2012, Syrian government officials announced they had shot down a Turkish F-4 Phantom 2, because it had violated their airspace.

On 23 June 2012, Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, admitted the F-4 had violated Syrian airspace: “It is routine for jet fighters to sometimes fly in and out over borders…when you consider their speed over the sea.”

Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, admitted the same thing, but added that it was not for very long, and had no hostile intentions: “The plane did not show any sign of hostility toward Syria and was shot down about 15 minutes after having momentarily violated Syrian airspace.”

24 June 2012, NATO officials announced they will meet on 26 June to discuss the issue, because Turkey has invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.  Turkey is a member of NATO.

The last time Article 4 was invoked was in 2003, by Turkey as well.  Guess what happened after that? The U.S. led invasion of Iraq.