Did the Ottoman Turks commit genocide against the Armenians? No doubt. Is it shameful, bizarre and outrageous that the Turks today not only won't acknowledge their nation's historical guilt in this atrocity, but persecute Turks (like Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk) who dare to say so in public? Absolutely. Would it feel great for Congress to poke the Turks in the eye by passing the resolution now before both houses, officially recognizing the 1915-17 ethnic cleansing as "genocide"? Oh, you bet.
But to do so would be shockingly irresponsible. The Turks are crazy about this stuff. It's hugely important to them, emotionally. And the US absolutely cannot afford to antagonize Turkey now. The Turkish government is dealing with a population that's overwhelmingly anti-American, and has been since the Iraq war started. Ankara has threatened to cut off US access to Incirlik, the air base that's absolutely vital to our Iraq and Afghanistan war effort, if Congress passes this nonbinding resolution. Can we afford that? And given that Turkey is on the brink of launching a (justified) war against Iraqi Kurdistan for deadly cross-border raids carried out on Turkish territory by Kurdish guerrillas -- a war that could conceivably have US and Turkish troops, NATO allies, shooting at each other -- well, is it really a smart idea to stoke the fires of Turkish nationalism right about now?
Don't get me wrong: the Turks ought to be made to answer for what they did to Armenian Christians, and I would love for the disgrace of their actions, and their absurd denial of it, to be shoved in their government's face. But this resolution would accomplish nothing substantive, except for doing a great deal of damage to vital US interests. Not everything that's true needs to be said, or said by Congress. I think we've learned a lot this decade about what can happen when the US acts on moral idealism without fully thinking through the real-world consequences.
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Would anyone make this same argument if the tables were turned, and it was Germany denying the holocaust of the Jews? Would it be "irresponsible" of the U.S. to recognize the holocaust, because Germany was a key ally?
If Iran was an ally in the war on terror…would the U.S. be ok with going along with Ahmadinejad’s holocaust denial, as long as Iran was kept happy?
How long do you expect Armenian-Americans to sit around and have their history denied by the country they live, vote and pay tax in? Its been 92 years...let us have some dignity.
Do you think its worth rupturing the US relationship with Saudi Arabia over the way it treats its women? Really? Can you live without oil? Can this nation?
Do you think it would be worthwhile to start figuring out how to live without oil? I do. But when anyone suggests heading in that direction (e.g., Al Gore) he's immediately shouted down as a lunatic. What's up with that?
There is not much difference betweek the current Turkish Government and the current President of Iran. The Iranian President denies the Holocoast and the Turkish governmn et denies the Armenian genecide. The Turkish Government is like Baghdad Bob denying the evident. How can any civilized National associate with sociopaths like the current Turkish sociopaths?
Kevin Aslanian, victim of the Armenian Holocaust
Muslims Against Sharia commend House Democrats and Speaker Pelosi for pressing ahead with an Armenian genocide bill. Republican opposition to the bill is pure manifestation of moral relativism.
Muslims Against Sharia condemn Turkish government for refusing to acknowledge Armenian genocide and recalling its US ambassador as a response to the bill.
Source: AFP
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People who worry about our war effort should think about what they consider we're fighting for. What's a little genocide between friends? Jihad doesn't count when it's done by an ally?
Let the Turks really say they don't want all the money they held us up for to use Incirlik for this war in the first place. If not, we have other opportunities for support. Armenia, right on Turkey's border, sends transport drivers as support for our troops - the most dangerous job. I'm sure they'd be happy to receive the millions of dollars a US base would bring to their country if we decided to relocate Incirlik. And it's not like the Kurds aren't another new factor for alliance in the region. These arguments are smoke and hot air about support.
Are we fighting for International Law to be followed or to help murderous racist regines who can't even accept their own past, because they still deny their miniorities rights? You decide. What are we fighting for, what kind of regimes do we fight to support in the region? Is it okay to sweep the death of 1.5 million Christians under the rug? And that's not even mentioning the Greek population in the same region that was disappeared during these years on the same marches.
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