Hughes Gets Earful About Iraq From Turks
Karen Hughes Wraps Up First Mideast Visit by Hearing Criticism From Turks About U.S. Iraq Policy
ANKARA, Turkey Sep 28, 2005 — Sent to improve America's image in the Muslim world, President Bush's public relations chief stressed the need for better dialogue in her brief address Wednesday to Turkish women activists. What Karen Hughes got back was a barrage of criticism about the U.S. war in Iraq.
There is "no chance for America to make its image better … while the war in Iraq is still going on (and) people are dying every day," Turkish activist Hidayet Sefkatli Tuksal told journalists after meeting with Hughes at a museum in a medieval citadel looming over the modern city of Ankara.
Hughes who concluded her Mideast tour Wednesday admitted that "obviously we have a public relations challenge here in Turkey as we do in different places throughout the world."
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Handed the task earlier this month of countering America's negative image in the Middle East, Hughes traveled to Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as Turkey key Muslim nations.
In all three countries, the war in Iraq and the plight of Palestinians have been critical issues that have eroded support for the United States. A June poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project showed that only 17 percent of Turks supported the U.S. war on terror and many considered the United States a threat to world peace.
In Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Hughes told Saudi officials that the United States appreciated the role they play in fighting Islamic extremism. In Egypt, her first stop, she stressed U.S. support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Wednesday morning, Hughes met with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and his undersecretary. Later, speaking with about two dozen women's activists, Hughes said that one of the key ways to improve ties was to "foster dialogue between my country and the people of Turkey."
"It is important that … America listen to the concerns of the Turkish people," she added.
The first person to respond was Serpil Sancar.
"We would be pleased to cooperate, not on violence but for increased freedom and well-being," said Sancar, of the Women's Research Center at Ankara University. |
