Turkey Calls For Emergency NATO Consultations Early today, France, Germany and Belgium blocked the automatic start of NATO procedures for the military planning to protect Turkey, arguing it would force the crisis into a "logic of war" when some peaceful diplomatic alternatives still stood a chance of success. "It would signify that we have already entered into the logic of war, that ... any chance, any initiative to still resolve the conflict in a peaceful way was gone," Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said.

France and Germany aren't helping anyone here. I'm assuming their languages have a word for "contingency plan." If a war looks likely, no matter how undesirable it is, you should plan what to do in case it happens. Having a plan B does not prevent you from pursuing plan A -- it gives you a recourse if plan A fails. How is it acceptable to ignore the potential needs of an ally in order to score political points?