The BBC posted an article today confirming that the Syrian military had shot down a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet that Syria claimed had strayed into Syrian airspace over Syrian waters.

The article reports:

A spokesman said the plane, an F-4 Phantom, was dealt with “according to the laws that govern such situations”, the state news agency Sana said.

The Turkish prime minister said his country would “take the necessary steps” once all the facts were known.

Meanwhile, the violence in Syria continues and escalates.

I have no answers for Syria–some of the people rebelling are as bad if not worse than the people in charge. We need to make some effort to protect the innocent civilian population, but I am not convinced that we should want to help arm the rebels or support them in any way.

The little news analysis block next to the news story stated:

The tone of the Syrian statement was strictly factual, and there was no expression of regret. If the plane did indeed violate Syrian airspace, that, and the apparent ease with which it was shot down, will be a considerable embarrassment to the Turkish government.

Hezbollah‘s TV station in Lebanon, al-Manar, which was among the first to report the incident, described it as “a clear message to Nato” about the perils of outside military intervention in the Syrian crisis.

I have no idea what it will take to bring peace and stability to Syria. I just hope that there is someone with some degree of power who does.