President Obama Greets the Muslim World
EmailABC News’ Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller report:
ANKARA, TURKEY — "I’ve been asked: ‘Are you trying to make a statement by ending this week long trip in Turkey?’" President Obama said just now at a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. "And the answer is: ‘Yes I am trying to make a statement. Not just about the importance of Turkey to the United States but to the world."
President Obama said that Turkey "lies at the crossroads between East and West" and represents both a blend of a modern state with "extremely rich traditions."
Turkey is a "member of NATO and also a majority Muslim nation, unique in that position," and thus being able to offer "insights into a whole host of strategic and regional challenges that we may face."
“We’re going to be able to I think shape a set of strategies that can bridge the divide between the Muslim world and the West, that can make us more prosperous and secure,” the president said.
The President said in his meeting with Gul he "thanked Turkey for its outstanding work in Afghanistan," and the two discussed Mr. Obama’s new plans for the region. "We have a similar perspective when it comes to how to go forward," Mr. Obama said. "We discussed progress made in Iraq and how to continue to build on that progress."
Other topics included business and commerce, how to achieve Middle East peace, and how to reduce nuclear proliferation "not just in the region but around the world."
Mr .Obama was asked by a Chicago Tribune reporter about his position, as a senator, that Turkey should recognize the genocide committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman empire during and after World War I, and whether he’d urged President Gul to acknowledge the genocide. This is an extremely sensitive topic, given Turkey’s refusal to use the word "genocide" when discussing its past systematic slaughter of Armenians.
"My views are on the record and I have not changed my views," the president said.
That said, he sidestepped the issue saying that "under President Gul’s leadership, a series of negotiations and a process has been put in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole host of issues including that one."
Thus, Mr. Obama said, he did not want to focus on his views, allowing the Turkey-Armenia deliberations to continue on their own.
The President started his day at the Ankara Sheraton and proceeded to visit to Anitkabir – the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. There the president participated in a ceremony and signed the guest book, writing:
"I am honored to pay tribute to Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, a man who (sic) vision, tenacity and courage put the Republic of Turkey on the path of democracy and whose legacy continues to inspire generations around the world. As the 44th president of the United States of America, I look forward to strengthening relations between the U.S. and Turkey and supporting Ataturk’s vision of Turkey as a…prosperous democracy giving hope to its people and providing ‘peace at home , peace in the world.’”
The President then said hello to a group of approximately three dozen US embassy officials and US Air Force personnel. He headed toward his limo but then turned around and told the group, “I thought we were in a hurry but I got a little time,” prompting a cheer.
Next is a major address to the Turkish Parliament where the president is expected to discuss a number of thorny issues, including Turkish membership in the European Union.
– Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller
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Means Friendship in Arabic -
الصداقة
Posted by: Cooday | April 6, 2009, 9:12 am 9:12 am
President Obama Greets the Muslim World “Hello my brothers!”
Posted by: Gary | April 6, 2009, 9:17 am 9:17 am
Means Friendship in Arabic -
الصداقة
Posted by: Cooday
————————
in arabic language we say شكراً لك
Thank you!
Posted by: Thoughtful | April 6, 2009, 9:20 am 9:20 am
Obama’s first overseas trip as POTUS can only be described as a resounding success.
Posted by: matt | April 6, 2009, 9:20 am 9:20 am
While seemingly redundant, it is important to state this directly.
Too many around the globe still hear and feel and to some extent, see the “either your with us or against us” or the ever popular “dead or alive” branding of what the brain surgeons of the Bush administration laughingly called “foreign policy”.
Finally, we have grown ups in the executive branch!
Posted by: Darryl the Contractor | April 6, 2009, 9:24 am 9:24 am
The kool-aid drinkers should avoid reading UK reviews of BO’s visit.
Some call him a boring windbag without original thoughts but speeches cranked out by a computer.
Ouch–looks like they have him figured out rather quickly.
Posted by: ross | April 6, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am
Obama has the nerve to call America arrogant.
He stages huge rallies to look like a rock star celebrity.
Then prances his dainty wife on stage like they are on a catwalk.
Next he reads a prepared speech that criticizes America but ends up being a speech about him.
America is arrogant? He is the king of arrogance.
Posted by: sammy | April 6, 2009, 9:35 am 9:35 am
Happy Birthday, Sunlen!
Posted by: MayBee | April 6, 2009, 9:42 am 9:42 am
I wonder if President Obama will mention that Instanbul itself was attacked by AlQaeda-linked bombers in Nov 2003.
Suicide bombers struck the British consulate and HSBC bank headquarters, killing 27 and injuring 400.
Posted by: MayBee | April 6, 2009, 9:59 am 9:59 am
Obama in his speechto the Turks:
“The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical … in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.”
It’s great that Obama meets with the Turks, our longtime ally, but why the need to say “the US is not or will never be at war with Muslims?” What has the US done to Muslims that makes him need to say that?
Posted by: Sigmond | April 6, 2009, 10:04 am 10:04 am
Obama said “America is not a Christian nation……”.
I say to him……God Bless America.
Posted by: Crystal | April 6, 2009, 10:13 am 10:13 am
Obama is the most arrogant person that I’ve seen. If he wants to apologize to the world I wish he would just use his name and not the United States because I don’t apologize. Also, Obama….did you not learn in history that we saved Europe and many of our men bravely and proudly died to do so. PLEASE quite giving the United States away. If you are not a proud American and know what this great country stands for then step down and move somewhere else.
Posted by: Linda Snyder | April 6, 2009, 10:21 am 10:21 am
Bush went far out of his way to protect Muslims and was very specific. You’d never know that from most media accounts and certainly not from Obama.
It takes more than hubris, Barry. The rest of the world is not as stupid as 52% of America.
Posted by: drjohn | April 6, 2009, 10:29 am 10:29 am
Happy Birthday, Sunlen!
Posted by: drjohn | April 6, 2009, 10:32 am 10:32 am
Wasn’t Obama going to “outline” his response to NoK over the missile launch in Prague?
If not there, then when?
Posted by: drjohn | April 6, 2009, 10:34 am 10:34 am
While he keeps apologizing for Bush, I’d like someone to ask him what he thinks Bush did to Turkey?
Sure, the Iraq war was unpopular there, in part because of the freedom it would give the Kurds.
But Bush was a big supporter of Turkish entry into the EU. Bush spoke constantly about the peacefulness of Islam, and his desire to help muslim people.
I don’t know if it is a strategy for Obama to continue apologizing for Bush, in hopes that it will give us a clean slate. Or if he is naive enough to believe Bush really was the cause of so many troubles.
And I had forgotten there were actually a series of bombings in Instanbul in 2003. The British Consulate, the HSBC headquarters, as well as two synagogues.
Posted by: MayBee | April 6, 2009, 10:47 am 10:47 am
There were also a few bombings in advance of the 2004 NATO summit, one in which a female suicide bomber killed bus riders in Instanbul.
Posted by: MayBee | April 6, 2009, 10:50 am 10:50 am
If the President of Turkey, our ally in the WOT, came to the United States and gave a speech to 10,000 Americans and said “We are not at war with and never will be at war with Christianity”, would that seem odd or appropriate to you?
There are 12,000 mosques and 5 million practicing Muslims in the US.
Posted by: Sigmond | April 6, 2009, 10:54 am 10:54 am
Home Sweet Home
If only Obama would stay there.
Posted by: ross | April 6, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am
Happy B-day, Sunlen!
Posted by: Denise | April 6, 2009, 11:10 am 11:10 am
I would love to know why Obama felt the need to bow to the Saudi king.
But since the MSM doesn’t want to touch this and the Obama administration probably wants to avoid it–we can only speculate.
To see the president of the US almost get down on one knee to bow was disturbing.
Obama is already being called weak and this certainly won’t help.
Posted by: reese | April 6, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am
Pew Research says Obama is the Most Polarizing President in modern history:
“For all of his hopes about bipartisanship, Barack Obama has the most polarized early job approval ratings of any president in the past four decades. The 61-point partisan gap in opinions about Obama’s job performance is the result of a combination of high Democratic ratings for the president — 88% job approval among Democrats — and relatively low approval ratings among Republicans (27%).
“By comparison, there was a somewhat smaller 51-point partisan gap in views of George W. Bush’s job performance in April 2001, a few months into his first term.”
More polarizing than George W. Bush. Now there’s some Change we can believe in.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | April 6, 2009, 11:21 am 11:21 am
I hope the countries on Obama’s tour enjoyed his teleprompter lectures.
We needed a break over here in the United States.
I can’t decide whether the world leaders really respect Obama or are secretly making fun of a rookie that acts like a know-it-all egomaniac.
Obama looked like a giggly adolescent in those group photos. Maybe that’s why so many teenagers like him.
Posted by: riley | April 6, 2009, 11:30 am 11:30 am
is Ahmadinejad’s response to Obama’s sustained charm offensive towards Iran:
Thanks to the steadfastness of the Iranian nation, which stands behind the dear leader [Khamenei], this nation continues in its glorious path and is known to the world as a nation that cannot be defeated. Today, thanks to great achievements, the threat to Iran has been lifted, and no power in the world entertains the notion of taking action against the Iranian nation. Even if someone were to entertain this notion and want to undertake any act of aggression against the nation… he should know that the Iranian nation is ready, and any hand outstretched in order to attack will be cut off.
And this is the Taleban’s response to Obama’s wish to reach out to the moderate elements of the Taleban:
According to a report in a Pashtu-language newspaper, the Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan has declared that the Taliban do not have hardliners and moderates in their party, and that they will not talk to the Afghan government and the U.S. unless the foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
… The Taliban fighters of the Mullah Dadullah Front in Afghanistan have rejected the offer of talks from U.S. President Barack Obama to moderate Taliban and have said they are not ready to hold negotiations with Obama, according to a March 9 report in a Pashtu-language newspaper in Pakistan. The report quoted a spokesman of Mulla Dadullah Front, Rahbarmal, as saying that the Taliban will continue jihad under the leadership of Mullah Omar…
Looks like Obama’s hand of friendship is causing fists to clench even more. Smart
Posted by: We are in deep CACA | April 6, 2009, 11:31 am 11:31 am
Newt called Obama’s foreign policy: fantasy foreign
policy
Posted by: Michelle | April 6, 2009, 11:33 am 11:33 am
Here is a must-read article:
“Thought Provoking” by Pam Geller of Atlas Shrugs
You can find it posted at defendourfreedoms
Posted by: Michelle | April 6, 2009, 11:45 am 11:45 am
Gingrich while smart does not have all the answers, either. He has his own past which will come up to haunt him re illegal bending of the rules. I’ll say no more. President Obama has done more to heal relations with allies than the last two presidents. Mr. Gergen feels that the good will he has produced by this trip will come to be a benefit in the long term. The other countries only had the “my way or no way” attitudes or the “with us or against us” memories of the last administration to relate to. Now,based on the mediation this president has done with France and Russia and two other countries, they now realize they have someone with which they can work. They don’t have someone coming and telling them what to do but to work together to come to solutions. I am pleased and Gingrich would be also if he wasn’t planning on running in 2012.
Posted by: talmag | April 6, 2009, 12:19 pm 12:19 pm
He has his own past which will come up to haunt him re illegal bending of the rules.
—————
Another hypocritical assault on a republican, while it was not against the rules for Gingrich to take an advance on his book the democrats raised such a fake fuss that he returned the advance.
Now, when Hilary took a 10 Million dollar advance on her book after winning election in the senate, the dems defended her by say “well she hasn’t been sworn in yet”
Gingrich did nothing wrong.
Although the congressman McDermott who illegally taped Gingrich got off scott free and no outrage ensued, although Pelosi refuses to allow ethics investigations of Barney Frank, William Jefferson Clinton (100,000 dollars in the freezer), and also won’t allow an ethics investigation of the kickbacks and buying of earmarks by democrats for a lobbying company being investigated by the feds, and strongly implicating John Murtha.
So if you want to complain about Gingrich come with some real news, not hyped up anti-repbulican media BS.
Posted by: MNM | April 6, 2009, 12:27 pm 12:27 pm
Obama’s, any political representative Dem or Rep, arrogance is truly dangerous. Has “soft words” worked with Iran/Cuba/Venezuela/North Korea..Healing?? Obama is just the flavor of the month overseas.. a fad who is taken in by his own ego…..His inexperience in foreign matters will come back to haunt us all. Perhaps Congressmen Charlie Rangle (D)was correct in purposing reinstating the draft, something tells me my son, perhaps your son/daughter, is going to need a lot help in protecting America..
“A FAULT ONCE DENIED IS TWICE COMMITTED.”
Posted by: Parallax View | April 6, 2009, 12:53 pm 12:53 pm
“Another hypocritical assault on a republican, while it was not against the rules for Gingrich to take an advance on his book the democrats raised such a fake fuss that he returned the advance”
Here we have another round of right winger vs the truth
Eighty-four ethics charges, most of which were leveled by House Democratic Whip David Bonior, were filed against Speaker Gingrich during his term, including claiming tax-exempt status for a college course run for political purposes. Following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee Gingrich was sanctioned US$300,000.[30] “In my name and over my signature, inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable statements were given to the committee”, stated Gingrich after he finally pled guilty in January 1997. [31] The House Ethics Committee concluded that inaccurate information supplied to investigators represented “intentional or … reckless” disregard of House rules.[32] Special Counsel James M. Cole concluded that Gingrich violated federal tax law and had lied to the ethics panel in an effort to force the committee to dismiss the complaint against him. However, the full panel refused to reach a conclusion about whether Gingrich had violated federal tax law and instead decided to leave that finding up to the IRS.[33] In 1999, the IRS cleared the organizations connected with the “Renewing American Civilization” courses under investigation for possible tax violations
Posted by: Ryan C | April 6, 2009, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm
“Newt called Obama’s foreign policy: fantasy foreign policy”
Newt’s the same guy who shutdown gov’t over his seat on AF1, ridiculed Clinton’s strikes on Al Queda bases and led impeachment proceedings dealing with a Presidential affair.
The hypocrite resigned in disgrace after the GOP suffered the rare loss of seats in the opposing party’s 2nd term as President.
Posted by: Ryan C | April 6, 2009, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm
RyanC…blah blah blah…Geez write something original..Democrat/Republican they ALL have their dirty laundry…I am concerned about the here and now and tomorrow…Newt has absolutely NO impact on the political scene insofar as current policy decisions…Obama does..Agree with him or not..his soft words are going to affect us all in a big way and I am thinking negative..That missile NK launched did not have Democrat or Republican written on it.
Posted by: Parallax View | April 6, 2009, 1:25 pm 1:25 pm
“William Jefferson Clinton (100,000 dollars in the freezer), and also won’t allow an ethics investigation of the kickbacks”
William Jefferson Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States.
William J Jefferson was kicked off his committee assignment though he won re-election in 2006.
He was indicted in 2007. Lost re-election in 2008 and is supposed to stand trial this year.
Posted by: Ryan C | April 6, 2009, 1:32 pm 1:32 pm
“Perhaps Congressmen Charlie Rangle (D)was correct in purposing reinstating the draft”
Rangel has issued a call for re-institution of the draft every Congressional session since the Iraq War began.
Posted by: Ryan C | April 6, 2009, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm
And Clinton called obama’s ideas fairy tales. He was right.
Posted by: Jenny | April 6, 2009, 1:46 pm 1:46 pm
“And Clinton called obama’s ideas fairy tales. He was right.”
Ah yes Bill Clinton’s sad whine as his wife lost in Iowa and was fighting for her political life in NH.
I stopped donating to the Clinton campaign and began looking at Obama’s after that.
Posted by: Ryan C | April 6, 2009, 2:01 pm 2:01 pm
“Newt called Obama’s foreign policy: fantasy foreign policy”
I’d like Newt to explain the Republican fantasy budget that they proposed.
Posted by: Skip | April 6, 2009, 2:22 pm 2:22 pm
stopped donating to the Clinton campaign and began looking at Obama’s after that.
Posted by: Ryan C | Apr 6, 2009 2:01:51 PM
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Wow, you could have fooled me.
Posted by: Monet | April 6, 2009, 2:47 pm 2:47 pm
We aren’t tyring to build ‘William Jeffersonian’ Democracies — after all.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | April 6, 2009, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
Ryan C.. And your point is, (draft?) I am assuming that by your one-liner you are suggesting that Bush was just as wrong as Obama is now and that is the reason why Rangle wanted the draft because of Iraq and now because of Afghanistan/who knows what else? Or perhaps, just ignore Rangle and his suggestions on the draft issue he will always introduce to Congress??..How about, 2 wrongs (Bush too hawkish and Obama too dovish) don’t make a right… It would be nice too have a President who has common sense period..Because I did not see a whole lot after 2004 and I don’t see any of it now..
Posted by: Parallax View | April 6, 2009, 4:35 pm 4:35 pm
Perhaps Congressmen Charlie Rangle (D)was correct in purposing reinstating the draft”
Rangel has issued a call for re-institution of the draft every Congressional session since the Iraq War began.
***************************************
I am all for it.
there is no better way to get a consensus when it comes to0 war, if we have to send our kids with no exclusions.
It would certainly stop this blow then up crap I hear every time someone looks cross eyed at us.
Posted by: Thinking | April 6, 2009, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm
Volunteer policy keeps out those who don’t want to be there and makes for a more cohesive military with higher morale.
Why would anyone want to work in any capacity, military or other, along side people who don’t want to be there in the first place?
Posted by: Sigmond | April 6, 2009, 7:22 pm 7:22 pm