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Syrian hackers leak Obama’s letter asking Erdoğan for help, 9 February 2015
A 2012 letter in which US President Barack Obama asked then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to calm Muslims who were offended by a video because of its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad and to prevent them from being a threat to American diplomats has been leaked by a hacker group that supports the Syrian regime.
The Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) is a group of computer hackers that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's administration. On their website, leaks.sea.sy, the group posted a letter from Obama to Erdoğan dated Sept. 14, 2012. In the letter, which begins "Dear Tayyip," Obama voices his concerns about a possible attack on US diplomats following the release of a short video titled “Innocence of Muslims.” The video has anti-Islamic undertones and it is perceived as denigrating the Prophet Muhammad.
When the 14-minute-long video was uploaded to the Internet on Sept. 11, 2012 in Egypt, it led to large-scale protests that were also replicated around the world. As a result of clashes with police, about 100 people were injured and 50 people died.
Obama asked Erdoğan to “speak out immediately and forcefully before people go to Friday prayers.”
“I believe that you are one of the most credible voices in the Islamic world today, and that if people hear you calling for calm and condemning violence it will have a real impact,” stated Obama in his letter to Erdoğan, adding: “It will be important to emphasize that diplomatic personnel and facilities must be respected and that the way to defend religion is through peace rather than violence. As people of faith, we have an obligation to prevent the people who did this video provoking a cycle of violence that violates the values that undergird our faith."
The letter seems to have been sent via e-mail early on a Friday morning in Turkey, just in time for Friday prayers.
In his letter, Obama also said: “I understand you are traveling between Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is just after midnight in Washington. I am writing to you because given what has happened in the last two days, there is a very real danger that there could be an escalation of violence on Friday that would be very damaging to our shared interests.”
Obama then mentioned the video, saying: “Let me be clear that the US government had nothing to do with it. We reject its message, which entirely contradicts my personal views and the values that America stands for.” Obama then underscored that the US respects Islam and they are opposed to efforts that offend Muslims by defaming the Prophet Muhammad.
He added that they could not do anything to block the video, saying that it is not possible “in this age of technology,” and noted that they are bound by the commitment to free expression. “Nevertheless, our embassies across the Middle East are at risk and we are deeply concerned that after Friday prayers our people and installations in the region could be vulnerable to attack. We must not let extremists use this video as a pretext to attack America, or our other allies and partners,” Obama wrote.
Obama ended his letter by thanking Erdoğan and calling him “my friend,” adding that he looks forward to “talking again” in a few days' time -- when Erdoğan would return to Turkey from abroad.
SEA is known for targeting political opposition groups in Syria and Western websites, particularly those that belong to news organizations and human rights groups. It is not clear if or how SEA is connected to the Syrian government. SEA claims to be a group of young Syrians who are committed to revealing facts about the ongoing civil war in Syria, which erupted in 2011. However, it is widely believed that the group is overseen by the Syrian state.
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