Statements by U.S. Officials

Remarks By Nancy Mceldowney, Charge d’Affaires Preparing to Turkish High School Students Preparing to Study in the United States 

U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Nancy McEldowney with Turkish students preparing for a year of study in the United States.

Ankara - July 18, 2005

Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning.

I am very pleased to welcome you to the American Embassy today. It is a special honor to have here with us Mr. Gökyar Karşit, Director of International Services and Education (ISE), which is doing such wonderful work.

I would like to begin by sending a special greeting and congratulations to each one of the 85 students participating in the High School Exchange Program. I know that this is a time of crucial juncture in each one of your lives. You have already devoted much effort in preparation for the coming year in the United States. In the months ahead, you will live in an American family home, study at an American high school, and surround yourself with American friends and colleagues.

I am certain that this will be a fascinating adventure. It will produce memories that you will carry with you for the rest of your lives. The people that you meet, the events that you encounter, and the lessons that you draw from them, will shape not only your perceptions of America, but also perceptions of yourself, and of the rest of the world.

As you begin this journey of exploration and learning, I want to take this opportunity to offer you some ideas to reflect upon, now and in the future. First and perhaps most importantly, as you travel abroad and enter into a new place and a new culture, I urge you to never forget who you are and what you stand for. As citizens of Turkey and unofficial representatives of your home country, you can and should speak with unbounded national pride and patriotism. You know better than anyone that the Republic of Turkey is a very great nation, with a long and rich history and an extraordinarily bright future. And of course you also know that the people of Turkey are world-renowned for their courage, their culture, and their hospitability. You will find that Americans will welcome your expressions of patriotism and will join with you in expressing a national pride of their own.

You also will find Americans eager to learn about Turkey, about the many similarities that America and Turkey share and about the differences that make each nation unique. I believe that you will also find many Americans expressing great pride in the partnership that exists between our two countries and the friendship that exists between our two peoples. For we have a very long history of partnership and alliance. Across the span of many decades, the United States and Turkey have stood together -- in the face of enormous adversity – to defend each other and to defend our common interests. In the Korean War, in the Cold War, and in post-Cold War crises throughout the world, our soldiers, our diplomats and our citizens have stood shoulder to shoulder.

By providing each other the kind of help that only a true friend and ally can provide, we have prevailed in the face of previous conflict and presevered through past crises and natural disasters. But today we face an unprecedented threat from an enemy that is more insidious than ever before. That enemy is terrorism. And while terrorism wears many masks and strikes in unexpected ways, there can be no confusion about its identity and its objectives. No matter what its form and no matter what false slogan it hides behind, Turkey and America are united against that enemy. Whether the group calls itself al-Qaida, or PKK-Kongra Gel, Turkey and America are united in the knowledge that they are terrorist groups. Whether the individual is Osama Bin Laden or Abdullah Öcalan, Zarkawi or Karayılan, Turkey and America are united in our determination to track them down and bring them to justice. Whether the bomb explodes in Çeşme or Washington, in Kuşadası or New York, Turkey and America are united in the struggle to stop the violence.

We are united in our commitment to do everything possible – and to push beyond the limits of the possible -- to ensure that our people are safe and our nations are secure. I know there are voices calling for more action against this threat of terrorism – and they are right to make such a call. We must all do more – individually and jointly – to address the security threat and to get at the underlying root causes of terrorism.

As students at the Lycee or High School level, you are just at the beginning of your adult lives. But the threat of terrorism challenges you to be wise beyond your years. It challenges you to understand and to help others understand that there is no nationality, no religion and no justification for terrorism. It challenges you to reach out – across national boundaries, across different cultures, religions and civilizations -- to express your solidarity with all people who – like you -- love peace and who cherish the value of human life.

These are enormous challenges, but we cannot be daunted or look away. Together, we must face them head-on and overcome them. As you depart Turkey for America, you will join a legacy of millions of other Turks who have sought education abroad and who have reached out the hand of friendship to America and to many other nations around the world. And as you return to Turkey after your year in America, you can help us find new ways to carry our joint efforts forward on the basis of common interests and shared values, as well as mutual understanding, trust and respect. So that wherever we act together, building democracy and stability in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia, or combatting proliferation, human trafficking, and terrorism around the world, we do so in a way that strenthens our partnership and deepens our friendship, and makes the bond of trust and respect unbreakable.

If we can suceed in those efforts, we will have made a very great contribution – to the world and to our shared future. These are sober thoughts that I have shared with you today. Unfortunately, the world that we live in and that your generation inherits, makes them necessary.

But I also want to share with you my happiness and encouragement for the many fun and fascinating experiences that await you in the coming year. You will have a chance to learn from Turks who have been preeminent in their fields, such as Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records, Mehmet Okur, NBA Champion Basketball Player, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Director of Columbia University’s Cardiovascular Institute. And, most importantly, you will have a chance to advance your academic studies and your exploration of yourselves.

And so in that context, please allow me to again congratulate you on your participation in this program. I wish you every success and look forward to hearing of your great accomplishments. Thank you.