Posted on 04/06/2009 10:19:36 PM PDT by Schnucki
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's newly appointed secretary general, has sought to placate Muslims by giving Turkey senior posts in the alliance, as he moves to distance himself from a three-year-old row over publication in Denmark of cartoons caricaturing Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
Mr Rasmussen, Denmark's prime minister until Sunday, said in Istanbul that he would respect Islam.
"I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectfully towards Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. Nothing could be further from my mind," he said.
"I respect Islam as one of the world's major religions as well as its religious symbols."
Turkey had threatened to veto Mr Rasmussen because of fears that his appointment as Nato chief could become a focus of anti-Western protest in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries.
The row over Mr Rasmussen's appointment, which overshadowed Nato's 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg last weekend, was only resolved after Turkey was promised senior military command posts and the role of the alliance's deputy secretary general.
"During my tenure as the secretary-general of Nato I will pay close attention to the religious and cultural sensibilities of the different communities," said Mr Rasmussen.
The Dane said that a full investigation was taking place into the activities of the Kurdish Roj television broadcaster based in Denmark, which Turkey says supports the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla group.
"If sufficient evidence is provided we will do all we can to close this television station," he said.
In 2006, Mr Rasmussen angered Turkey and other Islamic countries for defending the Mohammed cartoons, on free speech grounds.
Publication of the images sparked violent protests across the Muslim world, including demonstrations against Nato troops in Afghanistan.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
“I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectfully towards Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. Nothing could be further from my mind,” he said.
“I respect Islam as one of the world’s major religions as well as its religious symbols.”
Yeah, well too bad Islam and Muslims don’t respect you or any beliefs you have. Another politically correct useful idiot.
Can with ditch NATO already???? Cold war leftover with no purpose.
First it was Britain. Now NATO bites the dust of suicidal appeasement. The Muslims are laughing their asses off.
>> Yeah, well too bad Islam and Muslims don’t respect you or any beliefs you have.
You are misinformed, that’s totally false. But there are folks just like you on the other side of the divide, I’ll grant you that.
>> NATO bites the dust of suicidal appeasement.
We the Turks led NATO in Afghanistan as one of the early missions in the Afghan war. We did a better job there than any of these other nations that have halfheartedly taken on he mission since then.
Guess what, we know how to win the war in Afghanistan, because the people there love us. Anth through that we will bring success to the US and NATO in Afghanistan.
And do you not see that NATO is slowly slipping into the hands of the EU? Is that whre you want 5 decades of US blood and sweat to end up?
Wow. That’s like giving Warsaw Pact members key posts in NATO in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
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