Turkey Foils Attempt on Obama’s Life

On Monday, Barack Obama was reassuring the Turkish people that “the United States is not at war with Islam” and that he is determined to open “a new chapter in American engagement.” However, not all Muslims were convinced by his statements. Just before Obama’s arrival in Turkey, on Friday, the Turkish authorities foiled an attempt on his life. The one who wanted to murder Obama in Istanbul is of Syrian citizenship.

The man presented a false journalist pass, which he was using to convince security he was a correspondent for the Arab television channel Al-Jazeera, based on a press accreditation. The Syrian then confessed that he was planning on attacking the American president with a knife, says the paper al-Wattan in Saudi Arabia, taken by Agerpres. The chief of Al-Jazeera in Ankara stated that he had no knowledge of the false press accreditation. “He probably falsified our press pass,” said Yussef al-Sharif. The Syrian also admitted to having three accomplices. The would-be attacker had been living in Istanbul for several years.

American officials later confirmed that a Syrian had been arrested because he was intending on attacking the U.S. leader, according to information transmitted by CNN. At present, the Secret Service, which deals with security for the American president, is verifying the Syrian’s testimony. The officials who have been subpoenaed tried to diminish the importance of the attempt on Obama’s life. Their explanation was that these kind of intentions are not exactly rare, but that even so, they are taking this matter very seriously and are working with the Turkish authorities.

“The president was never in any immediate danger,” stated Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan. CNN also said that no details about how the Syrian was discovered and arrested were made public so far. However, there were no changes in Obama’s schedule in Turkey. The information about the attempt being foiled came out just before he left Turkey – the last stop on the agenda concerning visits in Europe. But because of this arrest, all foreign journalists, even the Americans, were submitted to thorough check-ups the moment they entered Turkish land. During the entire media cover-up, their equipment was checked in detail by Secret Service agents.