“Compared to Turkey and how old this civilization is, America is still very new.”
Well, compared to the civilization, perhaps — but not compared to Turkey. The nation of Turkey was created in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled southwest Asia and the present territory of Turkey for more than 600 years. Turkey was founded in 1923 in the chaotic flux of the Middle Eastern settlements after the end of World War I, as the Ottoman Empire’s lands got carved into the nation-states that exist today in the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding territories.
Compared to the US, Turkey and the rest of the nations in that region are actually quite young, not the opposite. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why Turkey rejects any responsibility for the Armenian genocide of 1915; besides denying that it took place at all, Turkey actually didn’t exist as a nation at that time. One might think that President Obama would take a moment to understand all of these issues before getting involved in them — and might also confirm the actual dates when nations got created before making those assumptions.
Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.
Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!
