Obama in Turkey: US Not at War With Islam

President Obama addressed the Turkish parliament today, and used the opportunity to extend an olive branch to the Muslim world, the New York Times reports. “The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam,” said Obama. “America’s relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not just be based on opposition to al-Qaeda.”

He spoke forcefully in support of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, saying the US spoke “as close friends of Turkey and Europe.” And he ventured into the treacherous waters surrounding the 1915 slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, saying, “history unresolved can be a heavy weight. Our country still struggles with the legacy of our past treatment of Native Americans.” (More Barack Obama stories.)