Yes, the president has been in Europe the past couple weeks. He was in Strasbourg, France, last week. I watched the coverage on C-SPAN and was very impressed. It's like, 'Finally, we Americans have a semi-positive image on the world stage!' Anyway, the prez addressed an international crowd. One major point he emphasized is that Strasbourg's history was marked by wars and is now a peaceful city. This is evidence that diplomacy does indeed work.
This week, Obama is in Turkey. He's correct in that Turkey needs to be included in the EU (European Union). He also stressed the importance of a two-state solution in regards to the Israel-Palestine situation. (You can read my editorial, entitled "Talks with Middle Eastern countries are the answer", which is about Turkey's cultural, political, and religious issues in the September archives on this blog.) I was glad that Obama mentioned Turkey's Kurdish population. This issue is so overlooked in the international dialogue. (Again, read the aforementioned editorial for more details.) Most importantly, he specifically said that all U.S. combat troops will be out of Iraq by 2010. (You can read "All Americans should take these steps"-- my editorial from the November archives-- for more of my views on that topic.) Speaking of which, Obama made a surprise visit to our troops in Iraq. Good move!
Finally, I think a lot of good will come out of the G-20 Summit, especially in regards to economic and environmental issues. Overall, I believe the president's European tour has been a resounding success.
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