UPDATE: Rasmussen did basically apologize in his speech today, although it was not the “open apology” Turkish officials hoped for.

Read our entire report here. Here is what Rasmussen said:

“I respect Islam as one of the world’s major religions as well as its religious symbols,” Rasmussen said during a panel discussion at a conference in Istanbul.

“I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectively towards Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Nothing could be further from my mind,” he added.

You can bicker about whether or not this was an “outright apology” or a hidden one, but I think we can all agree that this was a step Rasmussen would not have taken if he was not so darn ambitious.

END UPDATE

We reported yesterday that several major news outlets in Turkey (among others Hürriyet, which is not exactly the AK Parti’s favorite newspaper), Germany (Bild) and the Netherlands (among others the normally highly reliable Elsevier) said that Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen agreed to apologize for the (in)famous Mohammed cartoons in order to convince Turkey to accept him as NATO’s new secretary general. Like many other outlets, we blasted Rasmussen. This man became one of the most popular leaders in Europe, unwilling to sacrifice principles for economic gain. Until reports that broke yesterday, at least, that implied he was willing to betray his ideals in order to fulfill his ambitions.

Rasmussen himself now says, however, that the Turks misunderstood him. He will not apologize, he says. There is “nothing in the bag.” Instead, he will address the cartoon controversy.

His response begs the question whether Rasmussen or the Turks are lying (or spinning), or whether the two sides simply misunderstood each other. Like all politicians, Erdogan and his fellow AKP leaders have perfected the art of spinning. A majority of Turks and of Turkey’s regional allies did not want Ankara to accept Rasmussen as secretary general, and this for a variety of reasons. Secularists are angry because Danmark allows a pro-PKK channel to broadcast, while many Turks and Arabs were not exactly happy with Rasmussen’s take on the Mohammed cartoons.  It could very well be that Erdogan et al. leaked news about the ‘non-upcoming apology’ in order to protect themselves against the wrath from religious conservatives, fundamentalists, and virtually every other group in Turkey and the wider Middle East who opposed Rasmussen’s candidacy vehemently.

Erdogan has been in power for years because he knows how the political game is played. He is more than willing to lie and deceive; everything goes, as long as the AK remains in power.

On the other hand, we can also not dismiss the possibility that Rasmussen did imply or even promise to apologize for the cartoons but is now backtracking. European media have given many details about the deal struck between Erdogan and Rasmussen, all of which have proved true. The only controversial ‘detail’ is the one involving the cartoons.

Lastly, it could simply be that the two sides misunderstood each other. Rasmussen may have agreed to talk about the cartoons in a “conciliatory tone.” This does not necessarily equal “apologizing,” of course, but the Turks may have interpreted it as such nonetheless.

In any case, it is clear that the news was leaked by Ankara; no other party involved – not the Americans, nor Rasmussen himself – had anything to gain by it. It was an exceptionally smooth operation: instead of leaking it (only) to magazines and newspapers with a pro-AKP record, they contacted conservative and secular outlets. Hurriyet and Elsevier (and many others reported it as well) are both highly critical of Erdogan. If you want such news to be considered trustworthy and if you want it receive a lot of coverage, these are the organizations you contact if you are a member of the AKP administration.