THE RESULT OF THE TURKISH LOBBY IMPACT
Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Oct 2 2007

As we know 8 US Ex-State Secretaries and 3 Ex-Ministers who followed
their example, addressed a letter of request to the Spokeswoman of
the House of Representatives Nancy Palosy, asking her not to put to
discussion Resolution # 106 on the Recognition of Armenian Genocide.

In our view the scheme of the before mentioned initiative has been
elaborated in Ankara by the high-ranking officials and has been
carried out due the contacts of Turkish lobby. The existence of
similar cunning political technologies characteristic to Turkish
diplomacy is proved by two not secondary conditions.

The appearance of those two letter-applications in the US political
arena coincided with the latest visit of the Turkish Prime-Minister
R. T. Erdoghan to Washington.

It is also not accidental that the Ex-Foreign Minister and the
Ex-Defense Minister have signed the same document, the pivotal clause
of which is that after the recognition of Armenian Genocide, America
will be in the danger of "Turkish sanctions".

It involves two concepts: the probable change in the attitude of
Turkish society towards America and the danger of an obstacle for
the US air forces to use Injirlik airport. These viewpoints and
presumptions are actually the principal clauses of Turkish advocacy,
because Turkish society has changed its attitude towards America long
ago and the issue of using Injirlik airport has lost its vitality
for the USA after the latter settled in Iraq and Georgia.

One thing is left to clarify – that is – the goal of the authors, of
the before mentioned letter of request, the ex-officials, who still
live with the memories of Turkish-American friendship of cold-war
period. The thing is, immediately after the visit of Turkish Prime
Minister R. T. Erdoghan to America, on October 3, the meeting of
Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers is going to take place in
the USA, which will display whether or not our "hostile neighbor"
is ready to take specific steps to find a way out of the dilemma
the USA has put forward – that is " Recognition of the Genocide or
opening Armenian – Turkish border".

That is to say unlike the former officials, The US present
administration doesn’t fear the negative attitude of the Turkish
society towards them, or the responsive steps of the Turkish
government. On the contrary, they themselves formulated and advanced
the dilemma " Recognition of the Genocide or opening the borders."

Whereas at that critical moment 8 US Ex State Secretaries – Madlen
Albright, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Lawrence Eagleberger,
Alexander Hague, Henry Kissinger, Collin Powel and George Shultz and
the before time concern of the three ex-leaders of Pentagon, Frank
Karluchy, William Kohan and William Perry, who followed their example,
concerning the future of Turkish American strategic cooperation is
in fact based on the former idea of those officials about Turkey. At
present Turkey can’t bring serious damage to the USA.

The example of the countries that recently recognized Armenian
Genocide (France and Canada) displays that the threats made by
Turkey before the recognition of the Genocide never have any serious
consequences. Moreover when we speak about number one super-power, the
threat about sanctions against this country can have an adverse effect.

In our view Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan’s response
letter addressed to Nancy Palosy, the respective activities of
Armenian Lobby in the USA and finally V. Oskanyan – A. Babajan
upcoming negotiations can neutralize the possible negative effect of
this trick of influencing the present ones through the former ones,
on the Lower House of Congress and its Speaker.