Yes, it seems odd that Congress would think twice about labeling the deaths of up to 1.5 million people as a genocide. But these are odd times, so it’s welcome news that hopes are dimming for passage of the House resolution about the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Passing the resolution, long sought by Armenian-Americans, could hurt the United States’ ability to continue delivering 70 percent of the air cargo and one-third of the fuel to the U.S. military in Iraq via Turkey. That could put more troops’ lives at risk. The proposed resolution also is complicating the Bush administration’s efforts to keep Turkey from launching a major offensive into northern Iraq against Kurdish rebels, a plan endorsed Wednesday by the Turkish parliament.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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37 Comments
There could be hope for you yet Rhonda.
If only you would have included the blame for the Democrats trying to bring this up now this would be complete.
If it had been a Republican deal I am sure you would have included some remarks about blaming them by name and not just “Congress” in general.
Baby steps I suppose.
If anyone thinks that not passing the resolution will result in Turkey not pursuing 3000 ‘terrorist’ separatist across the border, I’ve got some WMD’s in Iraq I’d like to sell you!
Democrats need their heads examined for this one. What is it about Democrats that make them want to stick their noses into something that happened a century ago? What do we gain?
Seems to me the Democrat congress should take some time to deal with current issues, like passing a budget.
“”"Democrats need their heads examined for this one. What is it about Democrats that make them want to stick their noses into something that happened a century ago? What do we gain?”"”"
I guess for the same reasons we still bring up things like the Halocaust, Pearl Harbour and 9-11-01. And 100 years from now, we will still be bringing them up. They should pass the resolution.
Will there be a resolution when the Turks wipe out the Kurds?
Let’s get this straight.
Our being in Iraq in violation of International Law and the Geneva Conventions is what is putting our military lives at stake, as well as the Iraqis.
Leaving Iraq as well as bring our paid Blackwater thugs with us will work wonders toward peace and stability for the Iraqis.
Both the Iraqi people and their government want us gone, but the rogue State of Israel and our White House occupiers do have their grandiose PNAC Plan driving them on to their “pie-in-the-sky” “think-tank” driven world conquest.
The whole lot acts like kids with loaded guns {with the predictable results }.
Lets be frank Rhonda, this is Pelosi’s baby. What the hell is she thinking. She’s either an idiot or she wants to hinder our efforts in Iraq. Which is it?
From a commentary at the Daily Kos-
“irresponsably goading turkey into invading northern iraq for purely political reasons. tukey won’t just limit our access they will slaughter civilians in that charming way third world militaries have. lots of dead kurd babies upcoming madame speaker.”
6 million Jews killed.
Horror! Awful! Oh the HUMANITY!!
Let’s base our whole foreign policy on making it up to them!!
1.5 million Armenians?
Eh? who cares?
I guess an atrocity is an atrocity only so far as it fits a political agenda…
Oh heck Americans have no business condemnimg atrocity. That would be hypocrisy anyway given our history and current foreign policy.
Lets hear it Democrats, is Pelosi intentionally trying to tank our relationship with Turkey or is she just a ditz?
Better never see you whine about the Holocaust again Heckler.
Hypocrisy ya know.
It’s dumb-assed.And I’m left of ghandi.But the Turks won’t be influenced in their invasion plans one way or the other.And it was genocide.Aren’t you wing nuts always dissing Iran over denying the halocaust?We can declare genocide after the Turks wipe out more Iraqi babies than Sadaam’s gas attacks.
We can declare genocide after the Turks wipe out more Iraqi babies than Sadaam’s gas attacks.
Posted by: Door King | October 18, 2007 at 07:29 AM
I didn’t know Iraqi babies were part of the Battle Plan. Please do elaborate Door King.
BTW: read “Birds Without Wings” A remarkable book about the subject, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, from the perspective of a small village of Muslims, Christians and Aremenians. Beautiful.
Agree door king.
I guess heckler and bush and that crowd are saving the resolution.
Wouldn’t want to write it twice when you can address two holocausts for half the price.
Shame!
JR
What’s it got to do with the Holocaust? And when have I ever “whined” about the holocaust?
You seem to want to change the subject a little. Is Pelosi an idiot or just trying to harm our efforts in Iraq? Or does she have another end game? Just wondering what you think.
Yes J R, let’s also pass a House Resolution on how the Italians (Romans) slaughtered Christians in the Coliseum.
Heck, we can go down the list and pick on the Norwegians (Vikings) for all those horrible raids that went into England.
Can do another one on the Ghengis Khan raids into Europe.
Then wind it up on how Napoleon slaughtered thousands marching across Europe.
Passing resolutions of that nature should occupy all house representatives until their terms expire.
Harm our efforts in Iraq?
Heckler?
george bush is LYING about our “efforts in Iraq”.
JR
What’s Pelosi thinking?
“…. Passing the resolution, long sought by Armenian-Americans…”
Screw Armenian Americans!
America is selective in its outrage and judgement at what is atrocity and what isn’t.
I guess for the same reasons we still bring up things like the Halocaust, Pearl Harbour and 9-11-01. And 100 years from now, we will still be bringing them up. They should pass the resolution.
Posted by: Kev | October 18, 2007 at 06:04 AM
I see some differences there.Seems kinda funny that you don’t.
Heckler?
You see this as a Pelosi plot to end the US disaster in Iraq?
Ok
Paranoid but ok.
And the bush plan to getting out of Iraq is?
Yeah. There isn’t one.
The resolution is a bad idea at this time, but Phantom is right passing it or not passing it will make no difference. No more then if the Turks would have passed a resolution denouncing the Genocide of the Native Americans would have stopped the U.S. from attacking Afghanistan. One has nothing to do with the other, in this case it will just upset a needed ally in the region. The United States has fail to stop the Kurdish terrorists from attacking Turkey. So if we are saying to them we will handle it and do not, they will have to.Iraq for some time has hung in the balance with the Kurdish part being the only part with relative calm.The U.S. not wanting to turn them against us too, but we are seeing the price of not doing something about the only terrorism in Iraq that is a vested interest to an Ally. When we pick and choice among terrorists in a war against terrorism. It just rings hollow and brings into question our real intent.
JR
I can only infer from your remarks that you tacitly approve of Pelosi’s actions. My only question was- What’s she thinking, what’s here purpose? What do YOU think about it.
or just keep dancing, like Pelosi.
Heckler?
I guess she is thinking about Armenian Americans who want this done. Didn’t you read the header?
Try and keep up!
JR
You think she’s really so inept that she doesnt realize the problems it will cause?
I guess she is thinking about Armenian Americans who want this done. Didn’t you read the header?
Try and keep up!
Posted by: J R | October 18, 2007 at 08:01 AM
Timing is everything.
The damage Bush has done to our image is a major talking point for Dems. Why is Pelosi in such a hurry to sour relationships with one of our few remaining allies?
Heckler?
“…problems it will cause”
Excuse me?
You are Heckler right? The poster perpetually defending the pResident
of unforseen,unconsidered consequence?
JR
I realize it’s hard to give a straight answer to my question. Either way Pelosi looks like an idiot. Of course I did acknowledge that she may have some other reason for her seamingly idiotic actions. It’s just that no one can figure out what that might be. Including her.
Have a great day.
At first it seemed kind of bizzare that the current mood in Turkey was to run to the defense of the Ottoman Empire, a long-ago regime that rots in the dust of history.
Then it occurred to me that perhaps the Turks haven’t changed all that much. Travel around Bavaria and you don’t have to look too far to have good ol’ Nazi philosophy close to the surface. The Turks — sorta European and sorta Asian — are a special breed of folk.
They want their Ottoman Empire back. And it starts with the Iraqi Kurds’ oil. If they allow too much power (via oil) to the Iraqi Kurds, the Turkish Kurds might want to leave Turkey to form an independent Kurdish state. That certainly doesn’t bode well for a new, expanded Turkish empire.
The Armenian Genocide may seem like an anacronism, but it does serve to bring to awareness the Turks’ tendency to impose empire on others. (And, let’s be honest for a moment. If we give the Germans another chance to impose *their* perceived racial superiority, they’ll take it.)
The Crimes Against Humanity committed by George WMD Bush turn out to be far worse than the obvious political talking points. Yeah, he manipulated intelligence and lied to justify his war in Iraq. Okay, he had no idea what he’d do with the post-war occupation of Iraq.
But the biggest crime — one that’s probably not impeachable — is that Shrub waged war against a perceived enemy he did not understand.
More and more it’s becoming self-evident that the future of the Middle East should have nothing to do with the interests of the United States of America. Yeah, an immediate pull-out of all western forces in the Middle East might turn into a bloodbath. But it will be *their* bloodbath, not ours.
Meanwhile, the United States of America will face some hardships. Our economy does *not* depend on “Middle East” oil; it’s dependent (according to Dumbya’s State of the Union address) on America’s addiction to oil. That addiction to oil has to — and inevitably will — change.
Screw Turkey. Screw the Kurds. Screw Iraq. Screw Iran. Screw the Saudis.
The only way out is to work, and sacrifice, and rid America of its addition to oil.
It won’t be easy. It’s hard to quit smoking. It’s hard to go on the wagon. It’s hard to survive cold turkey….
“Turkey?”
Neither were the babies we’ve killed in our invasion of Iraq Kansas. But when you have bombardments and wars, you have dead babies.
And screw the Jews, Moneyhawk. If we didn’t think Adam was our grandpa, we wouldn’t give a damn about them.
Now Turkey, you’re our best buddie in fighting ‘terrorist’, but you just leave the defining of ‘terrorist’ to the good ol’ USA!Israel has every right to attack Lebanon and kill civilians in the process, we’ll even make sure they have enough cluster bombs. Turkey has no right attaking separatist in Iraq, because the Kurdish area is the only place in Iraq with any semblance to stability. So just keep your hands off until the Kurds have enough oil money to buy some of our weapons, and we’ve moved on to bigger and better things! But just remember we’re your buddies and we need your cooperation to fight the REAL terrorist! And, if it helps remember this Dead Jews killed decades ago=bad; Dead Armenians killed decades ago=Not so Bad!
Hey maybe they can condemn Cambodia next for their bloody mess.
Anything other than doing the job congress PROMISED to do in the midyear elections:
Pass the appropriation laws.
Still waiting for FY2008 funding………….
The Do-Nothing Congress needs to get back to business…
Stupid democrats, cannot even focus on passing the FY 2008 appropriation acts.
THEY ARE JUST AS BAD AS REPUBLICANS!!!!
It’s mid October the fiscal year has already started.
Congress has NOT done their job.
Goodbye Boyda! You LIED!!!
Tell me Dems, oh please tell me, why oh why have the Liberal Socialist Democrats chosen the year 2007 to bring up the genocide in Turkey that happend in the year 1915?
Did the Dems not have the votes when they held the majority in Congress for 40 years in the 20th Century?
Did the Dems just “discover” this massacre of 1.5 million humans now?
Have the Dems been campaigning on human rights in Turkey for years, most recently during the 2006 elections?
OR, just MAYBE, just MAYBE, the Dems have discovered a way to disrupt the war in Iraq WITHOUT HAVING TO DEFUND THE WAR?
A backhanded, COWARDLEY way to stop all military supplies going to/from Turkey?
To H*LL with relations with Turkey, a long-time American ally.
Turkey, by the way, was one country in the 1960’s that allowed American missiles to be based on their territory to defend the US from the Soviet Union during the height of the cold war. Or y’all forget that? JFK agreed to remove the missiles from Turkey in exchange for the removal of missiles from Cuba. No small trade, considering the nukes from Cuba could have hit targets in the US in less then 10 minutes.
Screw Turkey. The Dems care only about f-ing with Iraq in a cowardly indirect fashion to make Bush look bad. And to H with Iraq and Americans fighting there too.
Politics is more important.