Obama threatens Turkish Prime Minister with baseball bat

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Picture of Obama holding baseball bat angers Turkish political circles

Speaking with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Monday about the escalating crisis in Syria, Obama was photographed holding a baseball bat signed by legendary player Hank Aaron.

In the shot, the president looks relaxed and contemplative. But some Turkish leaders didn’t seem to think so.

"The photo reveals from whom our Prime Minister receives orders to rule the country," Metin Lutfi Baydar, an opposition politician for Turkey’s Republican People's Party (CHP) party, said in a statement.

Another CHP leader, party vice president Umut Oran, called the picture "an implicit insult to Turkey and its citizens” in Parliament, Reuters reports.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/picture-obama-holding-baseball-bat-angers-turkish-political-circles-article-1.1129098#ixzz22d6OkuuT

Edited August 5, 2012 by The Patriot

[Ban Hammer 13,555]

that's a stretch of the imagination.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

that's a stretch of the imagination.

Perception is reality.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Cultural misunderstanding?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Cultural misunderstanding?

The Prez isn't doing any better in the comments:

MICHAELLess than a minute ago

He looks like a heavy in a gangster movie with the baseball bat like Al Capone...Bad photo op for the President.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/picture-obama-holding-baseball-bat-angers-turkish-political-circles-article-1.1129098?comment=true

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

NOFEAR5 hours ago

dear esteemed leaders of turkey....................please forgive our young 'turk'. you should no more pay heed to the significance of the bat than you would some person holding a baton at voting a precinct!!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Since when is twitter and online comments news?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

While this appears to be nothing more than a silly incident, it actually holds some interesting lessons for the U.S.-Turkey relationship. To my American eyes, it is pretty obvious what is going on here; the administration released a photo during an election season that portrays Obama as a regular guy. He is holding a baseball bat, which shows that he is a baseball fan/sports aficionado, and it also shows him in a casual pose. A lot of times when I am working, I have a ball in my hand that I throw up and down since it helps me think, and if Obama has a similar tic, it helps voters identify with him, as silly and superficial as that may be. Had the caption on the photo informed us that Obama was talking on the phone to Harry Reid, nobody would have given it a second glance.

Obama wasn’t talking to Harry Reid though, which makes all the difference and is why it was foolish for the White House to send the photo out. To Turkish eyes, the fact that Obama was holding a bat while talking to Erdoğan about Syria might be wrought with symbolism and suggest that Obama is conveying the message to Erdoğan to get tougher with Bashar al-Assad. More likely, and quite understandably from the Turkish point of view, Obama holding a bat while talking to the Turkish prime minister is viewed as being disrespectful, and it plays on longstanding Turkish fears that the U.S. does not take Turkey seriously or view Turkey as an equal. The casual message that the White House wants to send to American voters conveys a very different and more damaging message to the Turks, and after nearly four years in office, the White House needs to be more aware of this type of stuff. The fact that the Turkish opposition saw the political utility in bringing up the bat incident is indicative that the whole thing is not just seen as a throwaway photo, but that it plays on fears that the U.S. essentially uses Turkey when it is convenient but does not accord Turkey the respect that it deserves. So in the future, the U.S. needs to be more mindful that the way things play here is not necessarily the way things play abroad, and that is particularly true when the political imagery involves a foreign country. As for Turkey? Well, sometimes a bat is just a bat.

http://ottomansandzionists.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/obama-erdogan-and-the-infamous-baseball-bat/

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

[Karee 4,191]

If Hilary had it, I would be concerned. Ineffective democrat presidents are pretty normal. This is a BS thread anyway.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

This is a BS thread anyway.

Not to the Turks, I am sure.

Some newspapers took a more lighthearted view: "Our Prime Minister needs to hold something in his hand as he's calling Obama," wrote Hurriyet columnist Ahmet Hakan, suggesting that Erdogan respond by holding a slipper, belt or rolling pin.

http://www.rt.com/news/obama-bat-photo-turkey-845/

The photo was published on the White House official website, with a caption reading: "President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in the Oval Office, July 30, 2012."

Reporters were keen to find out about a possible hidden message in the photo as they pounded Carney with questions over its symbolic meaning regarding U.S. foreign policy. Several questions focused on the bat itself, asking about where it came from and what it was made out of.

Carney however gave no direct response to such claims, and simply told reporters that all he could say was that the president was a baseball fan and an avid Chicago White Sox supporter. Carney also added that he would further study the photo for any other details.

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/139527/questions-follow-obama-pose-while-on-phone-with-turkish-pm.html

Edited August 5, 2012 by The Patriot

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Why hold a baseball bat while on statecraft - and then publicize it? The Turks could see any number of reasons: Obama was likely grandstanding as a tough world leader; possibly, threatening Bashar; maybe, impressing Israel and Saudi Arabia - or, Iran and Russia. But they calmly concluded that Obama was conveying a blunt message to Erdogan to speed up the "regime change" in Syria: "Whack Bashar, ErdoganBey".

Indeed, the Turkish army is maneuvering with tanks on the Syrian border. But Erdogan is yet to take the momentous step of approaching the Turkish parliament for approval for the army to cross the border into the country. Erdogan is thinking furiously. He took a meeting of the Supreme Military Council in Ankara on Wednesday to oversee "war preparations" and inter alia realized that the Turkish armed forces are in great disarray.

Sixty-eight pashas (a title used for military and civil officers) are locked up in jail facing charges of treason. The meeting on Wednesday was called to decide on the annual promotions of the Turkish top brass, but the choice was severely limited, since something like 40 generals out of the 68 happen to be in the "promotion zone" but cannot be considered for promotion since they are in jail.

The Turkish commentator Murat Yetkin surveyed the scandalous situation:

"Last year, Chief of General Staff Isik Kosaner resigned along with three force commanders in protest at the arrests. That puts even more pressure on the current Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel, who is already under pressure because of the arrest of a former Chief of Staff, Ilker Basburg. Basburg has been accused of being the "chief of a terrorist organization". Another former Chief of Staff Hilmi Ozkok is expected to appear before the Istanbul criminal court today [Thursday]."

Ozkok has since pleaded that he was indeed aware of two possible coup plots hatched against the elected government by the Pashas during the period 2003-2004. But he went on to rationalize: "When the AKP [Erdogan's Justice and Development Party] came to power, the Turkish Armed Forces staff, including me, had concerns. Taking into consideration the [AKP officials'] statements in the past, we were worried about whether Turkey would roll back to old days [read Islamism]. We began discussing these issues. In the army everyone expresses their opinions even if they think differently from each other, this is normal, but they obey the chief of General Staff's orders in the end."

Erdogan has a formidable challenge on his hands - he is being exhorted by Obama for taking quick military action to expel Bashar, while the Turkish army itself is sinking into a morass, as Ozkok's testimony gets played out in the coming days and weeks in army barracks across Anatolia.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NH04Ak02.html

Context seems to be everything, not only from the perspective of the POTUS and his intended audience, but more so from the perspective of the unintended audience.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Not to the Turks, I am sure.

Are you?

Turkey's prime minister has dismissed opposition criticism of a White House photo showing President Barack Obama holding a baseball bat during a telephone conversation with the leader.

Turkish opposition groups this week picked apart the photo, claiming the picture was disrespectful.

Erdogan told Turkey's A Haber news channel on Sunday that Obama is "a friend who never falls short of respect or politeness."

[^_^ 5,021]

Maybe Erdogan is Kenyan too.

[mawilson 2,133]

I like it. Threaten the fuсkers with a baseball bat!

Too bad it wasn't intentional, otherwise I'd reconsider my vote.