Why is the democratic congress making so a strong push at the Armenian resolution???

Question

Turkey is an important strategic ally, especially while troops are in Iraq..

Gates said good relations with Turkey are vital because 70 percent of the air cargo intended for U.S. forces in Iraq and 30 percent of the fuel consumed by those forces flies through Turkey.

U.S. commanders, Gates said, "believe clearly that access to airfields and roads and so on in Turkey would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they will."

Please dont tell they are pushing so hard to undermine our troops..

preciosa: Yes I agree it cant be over looked, but it has been nearly 100 years ago and they have to do it NOW.. with our troops in Iraq.. my gosh..

Answer 1

They're trying to undermine the Republicans which in turn ends up undermining our troops and a strong relationship with an ally that we truly need to keep.

Once again, political maneuvering, merely for the sake of winning elections and creating senseless turmoil.

Answer 2

Everyone is reading too much into this. Armenian-Americans have been lobbying and protesting for official recognition for DECADES. For Armenians, it has nothing to do with Democrats versus Republicans, or the war in Iraq. All we want, is the official recognition of an event that happened to our people, by the government we live, work, vote and pay tax in.
So far, 24 countries, including the European Union have recognized the Genocide.

Don't you think that a Genocide that has been denied for 92 years should be recognized as an actual event?

The resolution is non-binding, it is merely symbolic.
All it means is that: from this point on, the U.S. officially accepts what happened to the Armenians as a "genocide"..The "g" word causes problems with Turkey...
In fact, in Turkey, if you say the "g" word in terms of the Armenians, you are thrown in prison..(Penal code 301).

From the depths of my very being, I want this recognized. Its been 92 years..let us have some dignity.

Secondly, if we recognize past crimes against humanity, we will be in better position to reprimand the on-going ones, like Darfur. What kind of messege would the U.S. be sending by vetoing it?

Tom Lantos, mentioned that Turkey needs the U.S., more than the U.S. needs Turkey. As always, when a country recognizes the Armenian genocide (like Canada and France), Turkey bitches about it for a couple weeks, then gets over it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqkOwsBHZWs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC8I9ttFiX0

Answer 3

The top line purpose of the resolution is to embarass the current administration. The level of naivete implicit in this effort is stunning. Nothing good can come of this.

1. Turkey is one of a few secular nations with an Islamic population. Why would we want them to suddenly hate us?

2. The effect on our current efforts in Iraq is clear.

What do we gain from this resolution? Hard to say. Those who deny that the Ottomans committed genocide concerning the Armenians during WWI are probably the same people who deny the Holocaust and believe that the Bush administration planned and executed 9-11. It does not require a statement from the Congress of the United States to make it so.

Pelosi's refusal to pull the resolution is even more wrongheaded since now she knows that:

1. The Turks are pissed; and

2. This hurts the troops.

Honest to goodness this smacks of the Carter Administration's foreign policy and if this is an example of how we will be relating to other countries under a Democratic administration I am now officially scared. At first I thought such an administration would be primarily comical, now I believe that it will be dangerous.

Answer 4

If the US conducts its
affairs solely based on
what or what not might
hurt our allies feelings
then we better just hang
up our super power status
and give Turkey are full support.
We can start by letting them in to
Iraq to kill the Kurds.
I believe we should do whats
right and pass the Armenian
genocide bill and also give
Turkey a little advice about
the outcome of such a desperate
and inappropriate move on them
to shut the boarders to our US troops
will get them...
Turkey or any other country
doesn't control the US yet, lets
not give them the power to.

Answer 5

Turkey was an important ally, but now it's being dumped by Europe and the U.S.

For instance Turkey is not wanted in the EU. When Turkey called for NATO to protect it from a counter Iraqi attack in the second war Iraq , no NATO forces showed up. NATO refuses to help Turkey against the PKK even though 30,000 people have been killed since 1984. NATO wanted (but were rebuffed by Bush, but later helped in Afganistan) to respond when 3,000 were killed from the attacks on the U.S. 9-11-2001. The recent claims of genocide by Turkey are just another pile thown on by supposed allies.

If the PKK attacked England, the U.S. would probably have tried to carpet bombed the Kurds into oblivion along time ago. Since the PKK is only attacking Turkey, the administration favors the Kurds (and ultimately the PKK) over Turkey by not trying to stop the PKK attacks or allowing Turkey into Iraq to hunt the PKK.

Answer 6

Did you knows that the resolution has been coming up for the past 25 years and everytime it has come up the US government says "this is not the right time" just like they are now. During Clintons presidency the same thing was being said that is being said now and there was no war.
So when will it be the right time? Never is the right answer.

Armenian-Americans have been trying for the past 25 years for the US to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Its recognized in countless other countries like Canada, Italy, Greece, France, Poland, etc.

You said it happened 90 years after the fact, did you know alot of the survivors of that genocide are still alive? They were children when the Turks raped their mothers and fathers, chopped their aunts and uncles into pieces, hung their brothers and sisters on crosses and then burned them alive. Leaving the survivors as orphans who alot wound up in orphanges in America in 1915.
Their still alive, don't you think the USA should recognize what happened to them while their still alive?

Did you know Turkey never admitted they did the genocide, they lie and say it never happened, Turks claim Both Armenians and Greeks comitted a Genocide to them in 1915, they hold rallies in streets of America including outside the White House stating this. You can see the videos and photos Here:
http://www.theforgotten.org/denial

Did you know its against the law in turkey for anyone to say the Armenian Genoicde happened. Its Penal Code 301 in Turkey. The punishment is jail. Famous journalist Hrant DInk was sent to jail for saying the Armenian Genocide happened then he was killed, his son has to serve 1 year in jail for saying the Armenian Genocide happened/

In turkey their history books are re-written stating the Armenian Genocide never happened. The country is teaching their people lies which is causing a dangerous situation..

Should the USA deny the Sept 11 attacks happened because Osama Bin Laden makes a good ally?

Don't you think its ironic the USA is allies with a country Turkey who is Muslim and comitted a JIHAD (genocide) to Christians -the Armenians who deny it ever even happened?

If your grandfather was alive and told you how his father was hung on a cross burned alive, his mother was raped and killed, his uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters were all raped, chopped into pieces, tortured in front of him by muslims you want the people who did it to at least say sorry, right?

My Grandfather is 95 years old, all he wants in life is to see the USA recognize this before he dies.

Answer 7

They are truly vested in defeat - I repeat, they are truly vested in defeat. This has been clearly demonstrated and very obvious.
They apparently feel that their agenda alone won't get them into the White House, therefore, a strategy of "hate Bush" has blinded them completely to what actually might be best for America.
Immediate withdrawal didn't fly, a set timetable didn't fly, all of their "America has lost the war" rhetoric didn't fly, pork barrel spending bills attached to the troop funding didn't fly - they are backed against a wall and have figured out a very sinister way of severely crippling the troops and our war effect in Iraq.
Do not think for a moment that any concerns for the Armenians is their primary motivation - the Armenians have been partitioning for this amendment for decades - why the sudden interest now?
This congress is disgusting.

Answer 8

hiya you responded for me so now my turn. heritage is between the biggest issues human beings have. by using searching into the previous achieveable construct a significantly better destiny. If u . s . claims to wrestle for freedom an rights of human beings then it truly is going to understand what has happen ed. it truly is going to not be about who's u . s .'s best chum yet who has it top. Armenian genocide changed into the first of twentieth century and it truly is going to be known international.

Answer 9

Did they (Democratic leaders) not try to pull funding for our troops because of politics? Have not Democratic leaders openly admitted that if the surge in Iraq works, it puts their party's power in jeopardy. Why do you find it so unbelievable that they are bringing up this issue now, simply to undermine the surge? Why would they think it is a good idea to insult an ally during such critical time? The only answer is that they indeed will stoop as low as possible to make sure Iraq is a failure.

Answer 10

Directly answering your question: it's the right thing to do and it appears to be for Amenian constituents whose descendents were slaughtered who want this.

But since you seem to buy into the crap of "undermining the troops... just WHEN would it would be ok to pass this resolution? Just when is Turkey running our internal decisions? Just when did you thinnk coddling a Muslim country was ok?

Heck , could care less about this resolution, but neither should Turkey, they need to deal with history that they were bunch of masscaring butchers in the past.

The current line about removing Saddam is that he was a butcher. So Republicans MUST support this resolution if they have "principles". But we know Republicans are cowards and hypocrites, so Bush opposing this resolution is predictable.