John Kerry: Turkish prime minister’s Zionism remarks “objectionable”

CBS News/AP ^ | March 1, 2013, 4:05 PM | Updated at 6:45 p.m. ET | Susan Frazer and Matthew Lee

[Olog-hai]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday waded into the controversy over comments by Turkey’s prime minister equating Zionism to a crime against humanity, rebuking the leader of the NATO ally by saying such remarks complicate efforts to find peace in the Middle East.

Kerry said the Obama administration found the statements by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “objectionable” and he stressed the “urgent need to promote a spirit of tolerance, and that includes all of the public statements made by all leaders” at a news conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

“We not only disagree with it; we found it objectionable,” Kerry said. He added that he had raised the issue with Davutoglu “very directly.”

Davutoglu, however, gave no acknowledgement of the U.S. complaint and denied that any Turkish official had made hostile or offensive comments about Israel. Instead, he blamed Israel for acting in a hostile way toward Turkey. He repeatedly referred to the deaths of nine civilians at the hands of Israeli commandos aboard a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship in 2010. …

[Olog-hai]

They weren’t civilians. They were terrorists. Turkey sent terrorists to Gaza in 2010. The LORD rebuke them for those lies.

[plain talk]

I find comments by Obama’s Defense Secretary regarding Israel to be objectionable as well.

[allendale]

Kerry’s trip is getting an inordinate amount of press attention and is very well scripted. It would appear that John the Dope is preparing to run for President again in 2016.

[haffast]

I can't believe his friend said that. /s

[Cicero]

Note that Kerry didn’t say that such remarks were wrong. Only that they make diplomacy—the effort to take “Palestine” back from the Jews and give it to the Arabs—more difficult.

[ozzymandus]

It’s pretty difficult for this administration to give Kerry any publicity without revealing what a moron he is.

[originalbuckeye]

And, IIRC, it wasn’t an ‘aid’ ship, it was an ‘arms’ ship.

[rfp1234]

Not optimal.

[CdMGuy]

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk has been rolling over in his grave ever since this Muzzie freak was elected prime minister of Turkey.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Olog-hai.

• Kerry: Obama Remains Willing to Hold Bilateral Talks With Iran's 'Elected' Government
• 20 Crazy Things Hagel Believes About Israel
• Hagel wins confirmation to lead Pentagon (Cochran, Johanns Shelby, Paul voted YES)

from the $### that won't work dep't:

• Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu suspends housing settlements ahead of Obama's visit
• EU diplomats urge financial sanctions on Israeli settlers
• If this were an Arab child, it would be flashed around the world
• One in Four Terrorist Prisoners Studies in Hamas University
• Revealed: Arabs Behind 'Israeli Attack'
• Op-Ed: The Poor, Wretched Muslims of Gaza
• Video Shows IDF Deterrent at Low Point
• Seized Chinese Weapons Raise Concerns on Iran
• Chicoms Send Missiles to Iran, Iran Sends Missiles to Jihadis

Why a March visit?

• Netanyahu granted extension to form government
• Likud Responds to Bennett: 1st to Receive Offer to Join
• Bennett: Likud Refused to Speak with Us
• Bennett Vindicated as Coalition Crafting Enters Overtime
• Biden to Address AIPAC Policy Conference

and from the Keep Your Fingers Crossed desk:

• Hamas Warns Obama: Don't Visit Temple Mount
• Al Jazeera Hires GOP Lobbyists to Counter Congressional Scrutiny to Current TV Deal
• Iranian President Ahmadinejad plots 'extraordinary attack' on clerics