Final Days of Barack Obama’s First Trip Abroad from the Foreign Press
From the BBC:
US President Barack Obama has said the time has come for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country”.
Mr Obama was speaking during an unannounced trip to Baghdad, his first visit to the country as president.
He was greeted enthusiastically by US troops, whom he praised for their “extraordinary achievements” in Iraq.
Mr Obama also had talks with Iraq’s leaders, and confirmed his plans to withdraw all US troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The president flew into Baghdad’s international airport before travelling by road to meet Gen Ray Odierno, the US military commander in Iraq, and some of the 140,000 US soldiers serving in the country.
Mr Obama thanked Gen Odierno for helping to lead what he said was “a very effective operation” in Iraq.
He told about 600 US soldiers gathered at the Camp Victory military base that they had helped Iraq to “stand on its own as a democratic country”.
“That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that you have the thanks of the American people,” he said.
The troops had greeted him with cheers and shouts of “we love you Obama”.
From SpiegelOnline:
During his stay in Europe, everybody seemed eager to be President Barack Obama’s friend. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi threw his arm around the US leader. French President Nicolas Sarkozy seemed to be on Obama’s heels wherever he went during the G-20 meeting in London, the NATO summit in Strasbourg and the EU get-together in Prague. Even Russian President Dmitry Medvedev seemed to be enjoying his proximity to the American superstar.
Now that Obama is in Turkey, however, some political camps — particularly in Germany — have discovered the political efficacy of Obama bashing. While in Ankara, Obama reiterated his support for Turkish membership in the European Union, a position he first voiced on Sunday in Prague. That doesn’t sit well with some.
“Turkey is bound to Europe by more than bridges over the Bosporus,” Obama told the Turkish parliament on Monday. “Centuries of shared history, culture and commerce bring you together. And Turkish membership would broaden and strengthen Europe’s foundation once more.”
It is a sentiment not universally shared in Europe. On Monday, a number of politicians, particularly in Germany, went on the offensive. “It is a meddling in the internal affairs of Europe,” Bernd Posselt, a member of the European Parliament from Bavarian’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), blustered in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE. “The EU is not Obama’s plaything. … He should accept Turkey as America’s 51st state instead,” he continued.
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