Middle East Times, Egypt
Oct 14 2007

US-Turkish military ties threatened by genocide row
AFP

October 14, 2007

ANKARA — US-Turkish military ties will never be the same again if
US lawmakers confirm a committee vote that branded the Ottoman
Empire’s massacre of Armenians a genocide, Turkey’s military chief
told the daily Milliyet Sunday.

"I can tell you that if the resolution is passed in a full session
[of the House of Representatives], military relations will never be
the same again," General Yasar Buyukanit is quoted as saying.

"The United States is clearly an important ally. But an allied
country does not behave in this way," he added.

Ankara Thursday recalled its ambassador to Washington, Nabi Sensoy, a
day after the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee voted to label the
mass killings of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as genocide,
despite White House opposition.

Two top Turkish officials have also canceled planned visits to the
United States in the wake of the Armenia vote.

US President George W. Bush Saturday sent two top government
officials to Turkey to try to cool the diplomatic row.

US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman, a former US
ambassador to Ankara, told reporters at Ankara airport they had come
to voice regret for the resolution.

According to Armenians, at-least-1.5-million Armenians were killed
from 1915 to 1917 under an Ottoman Empire campaign of deportation and
murder.

Rejecting the genocide label, Turkey argues that 250,000-to-500,000
Armenians and at-least-as-many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia during
World War I.

The events under dispute happened before the Turkish republic was
created in 1923.

Turkey’s furious reaction to the congressional vote has fueled fears
within the George W. Bush administration that it could lose access to
a crucial military base in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
ally Turkey.

Though the resolution is non-binding, it is likely to come before the
full House in November, although bringing a legislative measure to
the floor does not guarantee that it will proceed to a full vote.

Turkey-US military relations have been very close since Turkey joined
NATO in 1952, and both countries are jointly involved in several
missions, such as Afghanistan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress