Making Up with Muslims
Day 77
April 6, 2009
"Let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not at war with Islam."
—President Obama, calling for a greater bond between Americans and Muslims, in a speech before the Turkish parliament
The President spends the last leg of his trip in Turkey, with much of his efforts focused on proving to the Islamic world that the U.S. is not the enemy. He urges the Muslim world to work as partners with the U.S., saying cooperation "is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject."
Earlier in the day Obama lays a wreath at the tomb of Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and meets with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul. His only bump in the road on the trip: when asked about the World War I–era Armenian killings, he stands by his 2008 claim that the Ottoman Empire is to blame and urges talks to continue but notably omits the word genocide from his remarks. President Gul responds curtly, "Well, my views are on the record, and I have not changed views."
At home, Vice President Joe Biden takes the mound, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Baltimore's Camden Yards.