Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, has signed an order to send two Patriot missile batteries to Turkey, with 400 American personnel to operate them, in a move by Nato to bolster Turkey's defences against the threat of Syrian missiles.
The order was signed shortly before Mr Panetta arrived on an unannounced visit to Turkey to meet American troops stationed at the Incirlik Air Base. His spokesman said: "The purpose of this deployment is to signal very strongly the United States, working closely with our Nato allies, is going to support the defence of Turkey, especially with potential threats emanating from Syria."
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