libertygrl
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Sigh.....
A row over Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's description of Zionism as a crime against humanity risked overshadowing Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Turkey on Friday, his first to a Muslim nation since taking office.
Kerry is meeting Turkish leaders in talks meant to focus on Syria's civil war and bilateral interests from energy security to counter-terrorism.
But Erdogan's comment at a U.N. meeting in Vienna this week, condemned by his Israeli counterpart, the White House, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has clouded his trip.
"This was particularly offensive, frankly, to call Zionism a crime against humanity. . . . It does have a corrosive effect [on relations]," a senior U.S. official told reporters as Kerry flew to Ankara. (Well, I'm offended that US officials ARE offended!)
"I am sure the secretary will be very clear about how dismayed we were to hear it," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Washington needs all the allies it can get as it navigates the political currents of the Middle East, and sees Turkey as the key player in supporting Syria's opposition and planning for the era after President Bashar al-Assad.
But the collapse of its ties with Israel have undermined U.S. hopes that Turkey could play a role as a broker in the broader region.
"The Turkey-Israel relationship is frozen," the U.S. official said. "We want to see a normalization . . . not just for the sake of the two countries but for the sake of the region and, frankly, for the symbolism," he said.
"Not that long ago [you] had these two countries demonstrating that a majority Muslim country could have very positive and strong relations with the Jewish state and that was a sign for the region [of what was] possible."
Erdogan told the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations meeting in Vienna on Wednesday: "Just as with Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it has become necessary to view Islamophobia as a crime against humanity."
The head of Europe's main rabbinical group condemned his words as a "hateful attack" on Jews.
Ties between Israel and mostly Muslim Turkey have been frosty since 2010, when Israeli marines killed nine Turks in fighting aboard a Palestinian aid ship that tried to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In recent weeks, there has been a run of reports in the Turkish and Israeli media about efforts to repair relations, including a senior diplomatic meeting last month in Rome and military equipment transfers.
The reports have not been confirmed by either government.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com h ttp://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/kerry-crime-humanity-zionism/2013/03/01/id/492619#ixzz2MKbhxqjw
A row over Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's description of Zionism as a crime against humanity risked overshadowing Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Turkey on Friday, his first to a Muslim nation since taking office.
Kerry is meeting Turkish leaders in talks meant to focus on Syria's civil war and bilateral interests from energy security to counter-terrorism.
But Erdogan's comment at a U.N. meeting in Vienna this week, condemned by his Israeli counterpart, the White House, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has clouded his trip.
"This was particularly offensive, frankly, to call Zionism a crime against humanity. . . . It does have a corrosive effect [on relations]," a senior U.S. official told reporters as Kerry flew to Ankara. (Well, I'm offended that US officials ARE offended!)
"I am sure the secretary will be very clear about how dismayed we were to hear it," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Washington needs all the allies it can get as it navigates the political currents of the Middle East, and sees Turkey as the key player in supporting Syria's opposition and planning for the era after President Bashar al-Assad.
But the collapse of its ties with Israel have undermined U.S. hopes that Turkey could play a role as a broker in the broader region.
"The Turkey-Israel relationship is frozen," the U.S. official said. "We want to see a normalization . . . not just for the sake of the two countries but for the sake of the region and, frankly, for the symbolism," he said.
"Not that long ago [you] had these two countries demonstrating that a majority Muslim country could have very positive and strong relations with the Jewish state and that was a sign for the region [of what was] possible."
Erdogan told the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations meeting in Vienna on Wednesday: "Just as with Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it has become necessary to view Islamophobia as a crime against humanity."
The head of Europe's main rabbinical group condemned his words as a "hateful attack" on Jews.
Ties between Israel and mostly Muslim Turkey have been frosty since 2010, when Israeli marines killed nine Turks in fighting aboard a Palestinian aid ship that tried to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In recent weeks, there has been a run of reports in the Turkish and Israeli media about efforts to repair relations, including a senior diplomatic meeting last month in Rome and military equipment transfers.
The reports have not been confirmed by either government.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com h ttp://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/kerry-crime-humanity-zionism/2013/03/01/id/492619#ixzz2MKbhxqjw
