Hire the Dane....

If the Muslims are upset, he must be the right man for the job...

Turkey's prime minister has said there is strong opposition from Muslim nations to Denmark's prime minister becoming the next NATO chief and indicated the candidacy threatened to harm the alliance.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, seen as the likeliest candidate to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as NATO secretary-general Aug. 1, infuriated some Muslims by speaking out in favor of freedom of speech during an uproar over Danish publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2006. He has also angered Turkey by opposing its membership in the European Union.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Islamic-rooted ruling party, told NTV television in an interview late Friday that he had spoken to Fogh Rasmussen and informed him about opposition to his candidacy.

"We don't want NATO to be damaged and we don't think it is right that you as prime minister should be damaged in this process," Erdogan said he told Fogh Rasmussen. He did not say when the conversation took place.