Obama: "The US is not and never will be at war at Islam."

 Then he throws the Armenians under the bus... and refuses to say the "G" word.

From Yahoo:

Barack Obama, making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president, declared Monday the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam."

Calling for a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims, portraying terrorist groups such as al Qaida as extremists who did not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can," Obama said. "The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical ... in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject."

...

Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyia, two of the biggest Arabic satellite channels, carried Obama's speech live.

Obama said the partnership between the U.S. and the Muslim world is critical in rolling back what he called a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.  "America's relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al Qaida," he said. "We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."

"We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country," Obama said.

Obama also said, to a round of applause, that the United States supports Turkey becoming a member of the European Union.

And then he threw the Armenians smartly under the bus.

Mr . Obama was asked by a Chicago Tribune reporter about his position, as a senator, that Turkey should recognize the genocide committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman empire during and after World War I, and whether he'd urged President Gul to acknowledge the genocide. This is an extremely sensitive topic, given Turkey's refusal to use the word "genocide" when discussing its past systematic slaughter of Armenians.

"My views are on the record and I have not changed my views," the president said.

That said, he sidestepped the issue saying that "under President Gul's leadership, a series of negotiations and a process has been put in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole host of issues including that one." 

Thus, Mr. Obama said, he did not want to focus on his views, allowing the Turkey-Armenia deliberations to continue on their own.

About that G- word:

President Barack Obama, steering a delicate course on an explosive issue here, said today that his views on the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks early in the last century had not changed, but avoided using the word "genocide" in front of his Turkish hosts.

According to Obama administration spokesman all acts of genocide, past and future,  are to be referred to as "unfortunate kitten incidents" going forward.  /do I really need this tag?