Rasmussen, who replaced Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the organization's secretary-general since 2004, is the first prime minister to assume this post. During his premiership in Denmark, Rasmussen attracted attention because of his controversial policies and moves, including the support he extended for the Iraqi war and Washington's treatment of prisoners of war in Guantanamo Bay. In addition to his negative image in the Islamic world, in the aftermath of the cartoon crisis that broke out in September 2005, Rasmussen was particularly disliked in Turkey because of his failure to shut down Roj TV, which Turkey argues supports terrorism, and his reluctance to support Turkey's European Union bid. For these reasons, Turkey was strongly opposed to Rasmussen's candidacy for the NATO post. At the NATO summit held in April, at which President Abdullah Gül was a participant, Turkey voiced its objections. However, the crisis was settled after Turkey was persuaded to withdraw its objections because of the extensive support of other NATO countries and US President Barack Obama, who also participated in the summit.Rasmussen, accused of eroding Denmark's peaceful image by sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, delivered constructive messages to the Islamic world after it became evident that he would become the secretary-general of NATO; he subsequently paid a visit to Turkey. Rasmussen, who arrived in İstanbul to attend the Second Forum of the United Nation's Alliance of Civilizations, emphasized relations and dialogue with the Islamic world in the speech he gave at this meeting. Ankara also welcomed the decision to appoint Denmark's ambassador to Ankara, Jesper Vahr, as the director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary-General.
Rasmussen, who presided over a NATO Council meeting for the first time on Aug. 4, made mention of the issues that he would pay attention to in his Aug. 3 press conference. He talked about the issues that will most concern NATO in the future, including Afghanistan, the expansion of NATO and the organization's new strategy. However, Rasmussen failed to deliver a clear message to the Islamic world.
In the first press conference he held as the new secretary-general of NATO, Rasmussen expressed his opinions on major issues that the organization will have to deal with, including its mission in the future and the major responsibilities it has to fulfill. Above all, Rasmussen noted that NATO was the most successful alliance in the world, recalling that it promotes common values such as freedom, peace and security. He went to say that NATO plays a major role in maintaining security in its areas of responsibility and further stressed that their first major challenge today is Afghanistan. Rasmussen said their major goal was to make sure that Afghanistan would not become a center of global terrorism again and that this was a goal that everybody needed to support and promote for moral reasons. He also said they would take every precaution and provide support to maintain security in Afghanistan during the presidential election slated for Aug. 20.
Rasmussen noted that their major goal in Afghanistan was to ensure a safe and transparent election, adding that in the long term they wanted to hand the governing responsibilities over to the Afghan authorities after the realization of full security in the country. Rasmussen, who previously announced that he would be open to dialogue with the moderate wing of Taliban, emphasized that attracting the support of countries on both sides of the Atlantic was essential for the security of the country; he expressed his hope and belief that this is an achievable goal. In addition to the Afghanistan issue, he also made mention of relations with the Russian Federation. Underlining that cooperation with Russia in major security issues is important for NATO, Rasmussen recalled that the organization should show respect for the territorial integrity of the countries neighboring Russia. In addition, Rasmussen expressed his goal to substantially reduce the Kosovo Force (KFOR) presence in Kosovo; he said he may even consider a full withdrawal from the region, adding that the conditions will be suitable for this in the near future. He also drew attention to piracy, noting that it is an issue that nobody anticipated a few years ago and that the spread of piracy in the Gulf of Aden had deteriorated the situation. Rasmussen said his staff would work to create a legal basis which would include NATO in the struggle against piracy via a combatant force. Lastly, he summarized his views on NATO membership and explained NATO's expansion vision in line with new global developments.
Rasmussen is an experienced politician. For this reason, it is not expected that he will repeat the mistakes he made with regard to the Islamic world in his new role in an internationally renowned institution such as NATO. A superficial review of his first press conference shows that it is fairly unlikely that he will adopt radical policies in order to promote his image and improve relations with the Islamic world. Rasmussen's focus with respect to NATO's relations with the Muslim world is limited to the war on terror and cooperation with moderate actors. This approach may prevent additional mistakes in his relations with the Islamic world; however, limiting relations with the Islamic world to the role of Muslim countries in the war on terror without making the effort to become familiar with Islamic philosophy, civilization and culture is a superficial and insufficient act. For this reason, if he views Islam as a tool to be used in the fight against terrorism, it could be said that Rasmussen will be unable to introduce reform within NATO and represent NATO's new opening toward the Islamic world in an era of expansion and the pursuit of dialogue.
