PLOT TO KILL OBAMA IN TURKEY UNCOVERED
US President Barack Obama looks out from his car in Istanbul -- where a man who plotted to kill him was arrested earlier by Turkish security forces.
Turkish security forces have arrested a man of Syrian origins who planned to assassinate US President Barack Obama during his visit to Turkey.The man, who sought to disguise himself as a journalist for the Al Jazeera news channel, managed to obtain press accreditation and allegedly planned to stab the US president with a knife, reported Saudi daily al Watan.
The man has reportedly confessed to his intention after his arrest, adding that he had been aided by three other accomplices.
Al Jazeera's Ankara bureau chief Yussef al-Sharif told al Watan that the network knew nothing about the man.
"We learned that the suspect claimed to be working for our bureau.If that has been the case then he most certainly forged our ID card," al-Sharif said.
President Obama, who is on his first overseas trip since taking office, was in Strasbourg, France on Friday for a NATO summit and arrived in Turkey on Sunday to attend the Alliance of Civilizations Summit in Istanbul.One US official familiar with the case suggested that the assassination plot is getting serious attention as there has been a heavy international focus on President Obama's first overseas trip.
White House officials declined to comment on the matter and cited a policy of not talking about security issues and threats surrounding the president.
Meanwhile US Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan explained briefly that "We work closely with the host country whenever there is an arrest, which we are doing in this matter".
The assassination plot is not the first attempt on President Obama's life.
Earlier in August, a group confessed after their arrest that they were "going to shoot
Obama" -who was then in Denver, Colorado for the Democratic National Convention, "from a high vantage point using a rifle sighted at 750 yards".Later in October, two white supremacists plotted to end their "national killing spree" by driving toward Obama and "shooting at him from the windows".
President Obama has been under Secret Service protection for nearly two years after receiving credible death threats.
Courtesy: Press TV
OBAMA HOLDS TALKS IN TURKEY
Barack Obama, the US president, has begun talks with senior Turkish officials aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Washington and Ankara.Obama, who is in Ankara on the last leg of an eight-day European tour, is scheduled to address the Turkish parliament.
Obama's two-day visit to Turkey is his first trip to a Muslim country as US president.
"I look forward to strengthening relations between the United States and Turkey and supporting [the founder of modern Turkey- Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk's vision of Turkey," Obama wrote in the memorial book at Ataturk's mausoleum where he laid a wreath ahead of official talks.
In the talks, Obama is expected to try to sell his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, which includes proposals to counter a persistent Taliban and al-Qaeda campaign.Obama will also "reaffirm US support of Turkey's bid to become a member of the EU", a US official said.
While Turkey has been long regarded as a close US ally in the Muslim world, some analysts believe there has been a cooling of ties during the administration of George Bush, the former US president.
Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught in Istanbul, said: "What everyone wants to hear is how Obama will 
define new US ties with Turkey, because they are concerned that instability in Iraq may increase as the US pulls back, which could make Iraq their problem.
France, Austria and other nations oppose Turkey's long-running efforts to join the EU. Others in the organisation have urged Turkey to do more to guarantee minority rights, curb the powers of its military and pass new rights for trade unions.
define new US ties with Turkey, because they are concerned that instability in Iraq may increase as the US pulls back, which could make Iraq their problem.France, Austria and other nations oppose Turkey's long-running efforts to join the EU. Others in the organisation have urged Turkey to do more to guarantee minority rights, curb the powers of its military and pass new rights for trade unions.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
