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The Ottoman Empire, with the exception fairly limited massacres in the 1890's, was not the perpetrator of the sweeping campaign of massacre, deportion, "resettlement"- genocide. In the 1890's the Sultan instituted fairly limited massacres and crackdowns. This was largely a reactionary movement to reforms of previous years, and indeed a reaction to the very statistics you cite. Armenians were rising above their traditional status, and to the government at least, this was a threat. For the Sultan it was religious based, for the Young Turks it was more "secular".

Now, let us come to the Young Turks, the perptrators of the genocide (or suppresors of the evil Armenian revolutionaries...). They come into power, what do they want? A state composed of Turks, for Turks. The Armenians are not Turks, what's worse they hold economic power, and are rising politically and culturally. Perhaps they posed a real threat to the Young Turk's dreams (though that hardly gives a good excuse), but probably not: for the reasons you cite- they were good citizens, and the Ottomans had treated them fairly well- why rebel? But authoritarians and their ilk are rarely masters of morals or reason.

Please understand I have nothing against the Turkish people. Indeed, they were often resitant to the perpetrations of their government, and Armenians found much better friends in Turks than Jews would in Germans. But why defend a government that so obviously commited awful acts?

"A state composed of Turks, for Turks. The Armenians are not Turks....."

You haven't spent any time there, have you?

What does a Turk look like? What are the defining "ethnic" features of "Turkishness," if you will? There is no such animal.

I have met Turks with blonde, brown, and black hair, white, yellow, brown, and black skin, blue, green, and brown eyes, asian, caucasian, and negro features, and everything else that reflects a language that spreads from Siberia to Greece, and a former empire, that... well, just look at some maps. Figure it out for yourself.

This Armenian Genocide stuff is a load of crap anyway. There's an Armenian cemetary in my old neighborhood in Istanbul, for instance. Had there been some sort of genocide, that, and all record of it, would have been erased years ago.

>>But why defend a government that so obviously commited awful acts?

I admire your drive to get to the truth and you remind me of myself when I was your age. It is very difficult to discover everything that happened in those days, but one thing is certain: No side in this tells the complete truth. I yet have to discover it, this even though I have read accounts from both sides in this matter of the Armenians and Turks.

Here's my take.. The Russian Empire in the late 18th century started her policy to expand her influence over the Orthodox Christians. Many of these were within the Ottoman Empire. The result of this was the demise of many a Turk and many an Othodox. The Armenian tragedy occured toward the end of the Empire, and this was a most desperate time - the Empire was in it's death throes, noone cared who got stiffed anymore. The Armenians in Eastern Turkey paid a heavy price. All they wanted to be was clients of the Russians.. This was not met with sympathy by the Turks. One decision seemed rational, to move the Armenians away from the Russian front. Sadly, many perished during the moves.

The loss of life during the moves, or deportations as some call it, was not surprising particularly when compared to an army advance on Sarikamis left 100,000 dead to the elements before the army of 125,000 even arrived there...

If we want to find culprits, we can do so on all sides. Yet I have a load of Armenian friends in Istanbul, whom BTW I would entrust my life, which rules out the notion of a genocide. There was no systemic extermination of Armenians in Turkey, but a series of campaigns badly designed to prevent the Eastern provinces to fall to the Russians.

After the Russian revolution the Armenians were left to the French. The French drew some lines on a map, and the Armenians expelled (or killed) all Turks living within those borders. A few years later the French had left no political will to support the Armenian map they had drawn, and so they were swept.

Life is a cruel thing, Cleburne. We have been cruel to each other. Difference is that Armenia is a fly and Turkey is a swatter. Where we go from here depends on how much common sense Armenia is willing to apply.

Adios.