Obama pledges a new start with Muslim world

Barack Obama yesterday was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States in a landmark inauguration ceremony in Washington, attended by nearly 2 million Americans. As the first African-American US president, Obama broke a key racial barrier in the US politics. Devoting large parts of his inaugural speech to the world economic crisis and its impact, Obama called on Americans to join him in taking responsibility for the country's future in a new age of accountability. Obama also outlined a new course for the US in the coming years, raising hopes that the new American administration would be more inclusive, open to the needs of people and governments worldwide, more collaborative and more inclined to deal with problems through diplomacy than military power. Obama said the American people don't have to choose between security and democracy. "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals," he said. He also pledged to improve US ties with the Muslim world, saying, "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." In related news, asked about the change in US power, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said there are great expectations that the Obama administration will act to tackle great challenges such as the global economic crisis and the Middle East issue. He said that he expected Obama to become the voice of the silent masses and to lend a helping hand to people in trouble worldwide.