I’m guessing #1 was when he said “today is Wednesday” and it really was!
All hell’s breaking loose in Burma, and the killing continues in Darfur, so of course the thing for Congress to do is pass a resolution about something that happened 90 years ago. These pinheads are beneath contempt.
The Armenian issue may be symbolic but the Kurdish question is alive and well. Sooner or later, the U.S. is going to have to choose between supporting the Kurds and the Turks. This resolution might be seen as the thin end of a wedge that will separate us from the Turkish camp. If so, all to the good. Things will never be really peaceful in that part of the world until Kurdistan, including Turkish Kurdistan, is independent; and if it were, most of the objections to Turkey’s membership in the European Union would vanish.
We could note that most of the actual killing was done by Kurds, so as to piss off two allies with one stroke.
Well, of course we will. Both sides have legitimate claims on our loyalty. But when push comes to shove, we will probably line up with the Kurds.
First, Europe isn’t all that crazy about having Turkey in the White Folks Club, and that problem will only be solved when there are enough good paying jobs in Turkey so that the Turks don’t want to move to Hamburg. Secondly, we don’t have that much leverage in Europe any more, we can promise, but we can’t deliver. And we are not all that popular in Turkey to begin with (you will recall, I am sure, their refusal to allow American troops to move through Turkey to get at Iraq…)
And the Kurds just love us to pieces right now. They will sign anything we put in front of them. Enduring bases? Sure thing, glad to have them. May we expect your support against the evil Iranian terrorists who are oppressing our Kurdish Freedom Fighters? Hugh Betcha! We don’t like pissing of the Turks, but sticking our thumb in Iran’s eye is simply too tasty to pass up. And if it requires military intervention to protect our long-standing friendship and solidarity with the Kurdish people, we stand ready, willing, and able.
Best test: send them Kissinger as ambassador. If they don’t instantly string him up, they’re ours.
Actually, it seems more related to Turkish ethnic pride and the long-standing denial re Armenia that’s existed in that country. If there’s any relevance to current issues, it’s that a government that can’t/won’t face the horrors of its past may not be trustworthy to deal rationally with ethnic divisions today.
Holocaust denial is vile. While I recognize the practicalities involved, if I was in Congress I would vote for this resolution. And urge more definitive action on Darfur.
As a side note, I’m surprised the usual Armenian genocide deniers that patrol the Internet haven’t shown up here yet. Pretty sloppy, fellas.
Actual board members? Or just obsessive googlers looking for mention of Armenians and Turks?
Based on past experience, obsessive Googler guests.
And then there’s ol’ Serdar Argic.
It’s It’s also related to the whole Armenian-Azeri conflict, and Turkish support for the Azeris.
They need to admit they’re wrong. I have NO sympathy for genocide denial. If their feelings are hurt by a non-binding resolution, tough shit. Turkish-American relations will survive this, and perhaps Turkey will be given a nudge in the right direction.
Congress is not the Commander-In-Chief. I suppose they could declare war and Bush may feel obligated to invade, but this seems unlikely to happen.
I thought that another part driving the denial is a desire to keep from tarnishing any part of the image of Attaturk . My (very limited, I’ll admit) understand is that Attaturk is to modern Turkey their George Washington* and Abraham Lincoln in one man. With some merit to that view point. The little I know of him suggests he was a remarkable man.
- Of course, how many Americans remember that during the Revolutionary War Washington ordered Sullivan’s Expedition against the Iroquois, which was for all intents and purposes a genocidal campaign.
I’ve been reading this with interest.Though my genealogy is mostly Scots-Irish,my paternal Grandfather was Armenian,the only one of his family to survive the massacre and escape to the U.S.
Someone sends me the publication AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union) which carries items of interest to Armenians worldwide,e.g. political/historical developements in the home country,and adaptations/successes of Armenians globally.
George W. Bush was stated as being a strong supporter of this resolution in a past issue,quite some time ago.
Most Armenians I know are Republican and have deep generous pockets to their causes.
Just some thoughts going through my mind.
I wasn’t aware the United States Congress’s responsibilities included passing non-binding resolutions condemning various historical grotesqueries. Well, we could certainly keep ourselves busy rejecting: the Dirty War, Operation Condor, Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds in '90s, Indonesia’s massacre of East Timor, the Iraq sanctions…what’s that, a little too close to home? OK, how about China in Tibet, Russia in Chechnya, France in Africa…
OK, OK, what about we bring to the public’s attention lesser known conflicts which won’t embarrass our allies? For example, in the last 10 years there was an enormous war in Africa which killed over 3 million people and pretty much no one in meat space I’ve ever talked to has heard of it. Or what about the civil war in Algeria? Or…
That argument cuts both ways. If it’s non-binding, carries no penalties and serves no purpose, why would the Turks be upset about it? We’re going to use a different word when talking about the past, BFD.
I say forget about it, because, off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen things more important that congress should be dealing with.
Back around the time of the original massacres, a lot of Armenians fled the country. These people and their descendants obviously harbor ill will towards Turkey and push for acts like this resolution. France recently passed a similar resolution and Armenian-Americans have been pushing Congress for this one.
It’s a minor issue here in America that the average American will probably never hear about much less care. But it undeniably means a lot to the Turks and they’re unlikely to forget we did it. I’m not saying that alone is sufficient reason to not do it but we should at least recognize that there will be consequences even if it’s a symbolic gesture in this country.
I’m up to three now. At this rate, Bush might manage to make one more good decision before leaving office.
Name any other American President, or any other world leader, who has taken so bold and courageous a stance against human-animal hybrid research!
And now cnn is reporting that Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to the US. Dopers and Bush are on the same side, and both right? And are those flying pigs I see outside?