Turkey and US head for showdown over vote on Armenian 'genocide'

From: The Guardian
((NOTE: Why would the house bring this up now & also why would this be on the front page of a european newspaper & hardly anything in our own country about the house doing this))).


A US Congress bill on the 1915 Armenian 'genocide' has angered Turks. Photograph: AP

Turkey and the US were heading for a diplomatic showdown today over a Congressional vote on whether it should recognise as genocide the 1915 killings of Christian Armenians by Muslim Turks
Turkish politicians have warned of grave consequences if the House of Representatives endorses the bill, which is opposed by the Bush administration.

Yesterday the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, warned of "serious troubles in the two countries' relations" if the measure is approved.

The threats come as the Turkish government seeks parliamentary approval for a cross-border military operation to pursue separatist Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. The move, which is opposed by the US, could open a new front in the most stable part of Iraq.
Turkish MPs in Washington yesterday put their case to members of the House of Representatives' foreign affairs committee.

"I have been trying to warn the lawmakers not to make a historic mistake," said Egemen Bagis, a Turkish MP and close foreign policy adviser to the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Let us not forget that 75% of all supplies to your troops in Iraq go through Turkey."

Many in the US fear for the crucial supply routes through Turkey to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the closure of Incirlik, a strategic air base in Turkey used by the US air force.

A measure of the potential fallout from the vote came in a warning to American citizens in Ankara issued by the US embassy in Ankara.

The statement said: "If, despite the administration's concerted efforts against this resolution, it passes committee and makes its way to the floor of the House for debate and a possible vote, there could be a reaction in the form of demonstrations and other manifestations of anti-Americanism throughout Turkey."

Article continues @ the link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/turkey/story/0,,2187784,00.html

don't we have our own CHALLENGES that must be meticulously attended to? Such as preventing and/or minimizing the Death Squads and Factions in Iraq from killing both Americans as well as their OWN PEOPLE of a different religious sect? :shrug:

Why must our Congress get bogged down in this trivial Bullshit when we have continuing GENOCIDE occurring in the very NATION we choose to occupy?

What? Do as we proclaim, NOT as we presently demonstrate via our own foreign policy?

Does anybody else sense the horrid stench of *in your face* hypocrisy? :( :thumbsdown:

on this.

Unfortunately, only her staff, The Late JoAnn Davis (R-VA), will receive any correspondence. It is tragic whenever we lose anyone to Cancer. :(

But yes, FWIW, at least our consciouses can remain clear if we can take a moment to REMIND our Congressional Representatives that they work for us.

How's this? Dear Congress Critter So-and-So (my district), It's not a productive use of your valuable time to censor ANOTHER Nation over a genocide that occurred nearly a century ago when we have ONE ONGOING in one of the two Nations we occupy. :shrug: :hi:

when I read they were doing this with all of our "now" problems & the fact that there was absolutely no good to come out of that house bill & all kinds of problems that could develop on it. Also, was ticked because here in our own country (and I could have missed it)nothing on this in our papers & on the front page of The Guardian. Our press keeps us so informed. Thanks for your comments and interest.

even if it's very disappointing news - we need to know so we can begin to MAKE them Change OR, with persistence and time - kick their butts out of office. ;) :hi:

and they got over it as soon as it was voted. This is traditional lobbying and at this point, the US is one of the very few countries which do not recognized it.

However, something more disturbing is hidden in the article.



The only important point in this article is here, and there was an article in the New York Times on this subject. Another foreign country messing up in Iraq.

And that sums up my knowledge of Armenia.

OMG! I am unwittingly an Ugly American. :blush: However, my native born friends from France and The Philippines are kind enough to expose me to glimpses of their rich cultures. :shrug:

Armenia? I don't think we paused on that Country long in Junior High Geography class? Or maybe I was sleeping that day. :(

Catholic school days--it was lightly sprinkled in with Social Studies. My knowledge of the countries of the world is totally hit-or-miss and self-taught.

amazing number of talented people - music (Khachaturian), jet fighters (Mikoyan - the "Mig"), business (billionaire Kirk Kirkorian,) and the list goes on. The Armenians have survived persecution and genocide to contribute much to the world.

The genocide of Native Americans and countless Africans in the US.

supplies going into Iraq go thru Turkey. Therefore, if the Turks foul up our logistics, maybe we will leave Iraq. Anything that gets us out of there is a plus.