Turks on the Coast

To settle on Obama’s recent visit as his very first to Europe as North America’s President would be doing truth a small favor. It was a mix of procession, parade, and musical tour. The fervor with which some looked to him, and I don’t mean Kirchner and Zapatero alone, appeared more appropriate of devotees of St. Martin of Porres than of political leaders of sovereign nations in trouble.

The mediated planning has been perfect. There was tea with the Queen, lodging with Carla and Michelle, photos in the streets of Prague and even a cocktail in Istanbul. It was in these two cities that things were said that make me uneasy. Obama arrived with intent to ensure that people are certain he is the antithesis of Bush. His conciliatory call for a planet free of nuclear weapons was charming, but it also has the same practical valor as does invoking a world free of war.

If [Obama] thinks he is going to stop skeptics with smiles and good example, just as Carter tried to, we’re ready. Nuclear bombs are not the primary threat, despite their terrorizing character and the fact that select members of the Alliance of Civilizations still long to stockpile them in their arsenals. Chemical and biological weapons—cheap and easy to produce—are, at this moment, more worrisome, especially with the bold antics of Al Qaeda.

You will agree with me that his insistence that Turkey joins the EU itches a little bit, as well—a sentiment shared by Zapatero. If we frame Europe as a marketplace, the issue has legs, but if we conceive of it as a community of values, principles and basic freedoms, it is not so clear. And it is not only a question of curtains. Someone should have reminded Obama that Erdogan, before becoming prime minister, unleashed in his speeches frightening images such as “minarets are our bayonets.”