Word: turkish
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...complications will not end on Monday, when Obama travels to Turkey, where he will have to dance delicately around an issue he has spoken out about at home, the Armenian genocide, a tragedy that continues to be officially denied by the Turkish government and which Obama has promised to acknowledge as president...
...Before his election Obama promised to visit a Muslim country within his first few months as president - and he has chosen one that had fraught relations with his predecessor in the White House. In 2003, Ankara broke with its traditional ally by refusing U.S. troops passage through Turkish territory to neighboring Iraq, an act of defiance from which ties never fully recovered. Public support for the U.S. in Turkey fell to historic lows as the war progressed. Washington was further aggravated by the Turkish government's pursuit of greater engagement with the Islamic world, including an energy deal with Iran...
...helps that Turks are already warming to the new president. One recent poll found that 39% of Turks said they trusted Obama; fewer than 10% said the same of Bush. Obama is so popular that a leading Turkish bank is running an ad campaign based on an Obama look-alike...
...During his stay, Obama is expected to seek Turkish support for his Afghanistan and Pakistan plans, a cornerstone of his foreign policy. Turkey currently maintains about 900 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO contingent there, and, as the only Muslim country involved, its presence is crucial to securing support on the ground. Obama is expected to push for an increase in Turkish forces and to ask for Ankara's help in facilitating a smooth withdrawal from Iraq...
...Rasmussen becoming the next head of NATO. Turkey had threatened to veto Rasmussen because of his handling of a 2006 crisis over controversial Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad. According to White House officials, Obama promised Turkey that one of Rasmussen's deputies would be a Turk and that Turkish commanders would be present at the alliance's command...