Posted on 10/11/2007 11:19:05 AM PDT by yoe
Turkey reacted angrily Thursday to a U.S. congressional committee's vote to condemn the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey in World War I as an act of genocide, calling the decision "unacceptable."
In a rare and uncharacteristically strong condemnation, President Abdullah Gul criticized the vote by the House Foreign Relations Committee and warned that the decision would damage Turkey's relations with the United States.
"Unfortunately, some politicians in the United States have once more dismissed calls for common sense, and made an attempt to sacrifice big issues for minor domestic political games," Gul said in a statement to the semiofficial Anatolian News Agency. "This unacceptable decision of the committee, like similar ones in the past, has no validity and is not worthy of the respect of the Turkish people."
The Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued Thursday, warned that relations with the United States will be made more complicated. "The committee's approval of this resolution was an irresponsible move which, at a greatly sensitive time, will make relations with a friend and ally" more difficult, Anatolian quoted the Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
The Associated Press reported that the Armenian president, Robert Kocharian, on Thursday welcomed the resolution but also urged Turkey to join in talks with Armenia to restore bilateral relations. "We hope this process will lead to a full recognition by the United States of America" of the genocide, he said in Brussels, The Associated Press reported.
The House decision was a rebuff to an intense campaign by the White House and earlier warnings from the Turkish government that the vote would gravely strain its relations with the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
The Democratic plans from the get go and has Kennedy/Biden/anti-war crowd finger prints all over it....Pelosi is not bright enough.....Bush will get the blame for angering Turkey...
The Dems promised to “repair” relations with our allies, but they just trashed our relations with our closest Muslim ally.
I think congress has pretty much assured single digit approval ratings.
Not only does a lot of the cargo bound for Iraq pass through Turkey but we also have a base in Turkey near Adana that supports our presence in Iraq. Turks are extremely proud and this dredging up of old wounds is going to create serious issues with our military presence there. There is no upside for us and the congress is directly responsible for whatever happens to our relationship with Turkey going forward. Good work Nancy. /s/
I doubt the Democrats sincerity in their condemnation of Turkey. If they didn’t see it as a chance to harm President Bush and the War on Terrorism, they wouldn’t give a rat’s tail about the Armenians.
There are a large number of Armenians in CA....this wasnt just to hurt Bush...his administration has done enough of that on its own.
I see the AG has retained legal counsel. nice.
Modern Democrats have always had back-channel communications with America’s enemies—North Vietnam, Castro, the Sandanistas, Saddam, Iran. The timing of this resolution fits Al Qaeda’s plan.
The Ottoman Empire ceased to exist in 1922. Since then, Turkey has made great strides as the only Muslim majority country with a secular government.
I don’t see the point in embarrassing an important ally for something that happened 90 years ago under a completely different form of government.
The Democratic Congress is inept. Do we want Democrats running foreign policy?
The event was 90 years ago. They could have passed this resolution when Clinton, or Woodrow Wilson was president.
We should definitely tip-toe around the fact that the Turks murdered 1.5 Million people, otherwise they won’t be our friends anymore.
In fact let’s not mention it for another ninety years.
I cannot accept that whitewashing history to appease Muslim fanatics is going to make the world a better place. On the contrary - if we censor ourselves we just end up torpedoing our own cause. The war on Terror is a War of Ideas - if no-one is willing to point to the murderous fanaticism of Islam then America will slide further into “Abu-Ghraib, blame America first” mode.
They did try to pass it.
Personally, I think its a way to launch lawsuits against Turkey or Turkish companies once it is recognized, as the Japanese interns and Holocaust Survivors did.
While we’re at it, why don’t we issue a stack of resolutions insulting all of our allies for things that happened a century ago or more?
And why shouldn’t they issue similar resolutions about American Indians?
“We should definitely tip-toe around the fact that the Turks murdered 1.5 Million people, otherwise they won’t be our friends anymore.”
My word. What a dumb analysis. How would you feel if the Turkish parliament passed a motion today condeming you as a modern American for the massacre of native americans?
Probably the same as I would as a modern Britain for someone trying to bring up the Irish potatoe famine as an event with modern relevence. I would tell them where to get off.
The Turkish secular approach to Islam since Kamel Attaturk took power is a model to be copied all over the Middle East if we are to have any chance of avoiding armageddon in the next decaded or two. Over the last few years Attaturk’s legacy seems to be getting lost to the fundamentalists - so what is the smart thing for the west to do? Push them down the slipperly slope faster with this kind of liberal BS forcing historical guilt?
“Our closest Muslim ally” burned innocent people alive and perpetrated all manner of horrors. My family escaped that awful time while the world ignored it was even happening. Shouldn’t this - and what is happening in Darfur and what is happening all over the world where muslims are being barbaric - be condemned by any reasonable person?
“And why shouldn’t they issue similar resolutions about American Indians?”
You beat me by a minute!
It is the fact that they have not learned that should be protested and the entire muslim world should be held accountable for its continuing barbaric behavior. Why stop with the Armenian Genocide?
It’s not a secret. Everybody on the planet knows, although most don’t know where Turkey or Armenia are on the map. Turkey has internal political problems way worse than the USA has and this action would feed that.
Would you say the same thing with regards to our history of Slavery?
Choose your fights based on being correct from a Moral position, not because you don’t like the Democrats.
So did the Germans. So did the Japanese. The list could go on and on. Chastising our allies for things that happened a century ago by perpetrators who are now all dead is not only bad diplomacy, but just plain stupid.
Like I said, maybe they should chastise us for wiping out the Indians, or slavery.
I would also point out that Congress is not the head of state. Congress has no business interfering in diplomatic matters. But this Congress has a habit of abusing its powers, particularly in the area of diplomacy. Thus, Pelosi met with Assad over Bush’s objections. We’ve got Dems insisting that we should negotiate with Iran. They did the same thing with North Korea. We’ve got Dems lecturing the Iraqi government on how to run their country. And now this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.