Bush 2K: "I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenians"

http://mediamatters.org/items/200710150005?src=item200710150005">Wash.Post quoted White House saying not for Congress to "work out" whether Armenians suffered "genocide"-- but Bush himself did in 2000

Mon, Oct 15, 2007 12:45pm ET

Summary: A Washington Post column discussing a congressional resolution that would label the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 as genocide quoted White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying, "What happened nearly 100 years ago in Turkey and Armenia is tragic, but is an historical issue that needs to be worked out by those two countries, not the United States Congress." But the column did not mention that as a presidential candidate in 2000 Bush sent a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America declaring that "he Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension." According to an excerpt of the letter, Bush also said that if elected president, he "would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people."

In the October 15 Washington Post http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101401168.html">"In the Loop" column by staff writers Michael Abramowitz and Peter Baker about a resolution approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on October 10 -- labeling the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 as genocide -- the authors reported that "President Bush has found himself in a morally and politically ambiguous position on what may be one of the most vexing questions that can face an occupant of the White House: When does carnage rise to the level of 'genocide'?" The article further quoted White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying, "What happened nearly 100 years ago in Turkey and Armenia is tragic, but is an historical issue that needs to be worked out by those two countries, not the United States Congress." But the column did not mention that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America, in which, according to a http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.anca.org/press_releases/press_releases.php?prid=60">press release on the organization's website, he wrote that "the Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension." According to the excerpt of the letter posted on the website, Bush also said that if elected president, he "would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people," as Media Matters for America documented. Similarly, October 15 articles by The New York Times, the Associated Press, and The Washington Times, reported the Bush administration's objections to the resolution but did not note Bush's pledge in 2000.

On October 10, the blog Think Progress highlighted the Armenian National Committee of America's press release. Despite Bush's reported characterization of the Turkish killing of Armenians a "genocidal campaign" and his reported pledge as a candidate that he would "ensure" that the United States would "properly recognize[]" the event, as president, he does not appear to have used the term "genocide" -- or any variant thereof -- to describe the killings, according to a search of the White House website. From the "partial text" of Bush's letter on the Armenian National Committee of America website:

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Armenian National Committee of Illinois

http://www.anca.org/press_releases/press_releases.php?prid=60

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release ~ 2001-03-27
Contact: Email: ANC_IL@yahoo.com ~

Bush Reaffirms Genocide Pledge

Chicago -

During a recent trip to Chicago to promote his tax-cut plan, President George W. Bush made statements to members of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) reaffirming his campaign pledge to "ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people."

Bush made the statement while visiting the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to promote his $1.3 trillion tax cut to the investment community. During a tour of the trading floor, Hagop Soulakian and Sevan Loughran of the ANC of Illinois approached the President to inquire about his position on issues of concern to Armenian-Americans.

In response to Soulakian's query, the President replied that "The Armenians are great people. You know I made a promise to you before I was elected," Bush stated. He then mentioned that he had sent a letter to the Armenian community during the presidential campaign, and concluded his comments by stating "We're going to take care of the Armenians."

In the letter, which was written in February of 2000, Bush stated that "The Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension ...", using the word genocide to describe the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman government. The statement was important as Bush's democratic opponent, Al Gore, and his predecessor, Bill Clinton, took great care during their eight-year administration to avoid using the 'genocide' word in their public statements in order placate the Turkish government. In recent years Turkey has spent millions of dollars on a campaign to deny the occurrence the Armenian genocide and apply political pressure on Western governments.

"We were encouraged to hear that President Bush intends to honor the campaign promise he made to the Armenian-American community," stated Rita Sarrafian of the ANC of Illinois. "The entire Armenian-American community will be anxiously waiting to hear the President clearly and unambiguously characterize the Armenian Genocide as a genocide," she concluded.

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