"Which Muslim capital will Barack Obama choose?
Opinions abound on city the president-elect will pick for his speech
By Liz Sly | Tribune correspondent
11:27 PM CST, December 10, 2008
BEIRUT—President-elect Barack Obama says he plans to deliver a major speech in an Islamic capital aimed at improving America's image in the Muslim world.
.....Indeed, Khashan rules out any Arab capital. "He cannot visit an Arab country because all the Arab world is in a state of decay," he said. "He has to go to a place where there is a story of success."
That place, he said, is Ankara, the capital of Turkey, a secular democracy that could serve as a model for the Muslim world.
But Jordanian political analyst Labib Kamhawi thinks Turkey is too close to the West to serve as a suitable location. It is seeking to join the European Union, a member of NATO and "is three-quarters in the West and only one quarter in the East. I don't think that would be enough," he said."
More:Which Muslim capital will Barack Obama choose? -- chicagotribune.com