Agence France Presse
Oct 12 2007

Politics drive US Armenia resolution

WASHINGTON (AFP) – An explosive mix of political opportunism, moral
crusading and a bitter feud with President George W. Bush is driving
Democrats to ignore Turkey’s ire and label massacres of Armenians as
genocide.

In a case steeped in history, riven with domestic politics but with
major international implications, the House of Representatives is set
to debate a measure on the killings in World War I of up to 1.5
million Ottoman Armenians.

Though it is non-binding, the bill, likely to come up in the full
House in November, has enraged Turkey, which recalled its ambassador
to Washington and stoked fears here it will cut vital logistical
support for US Iraq operations.

Democrats argue that by refusing to condemn the Armenian massacres as
"genocide" the United States will encourage impunity for current and
future crimes against humanity, for example the killings of civilians
in Darfur.

One of the faces of the Democratic effort is Democratic Congressman
Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committe and a
Holocaust survivor known for infusing his politics with a strong
moral tone.

The committee this week passed the bill to the full House floor after
Lantos had called a vote of "conscience" and argued the United States
had a moral duty to describe the killings as "genocide" despite the
consequences.

It was a reminder of the consequences when domestic US politics erupt
onto the international stage from a system where the legislature and
the executive (presidential) branches are equal and often at odds.

Democratic determination on the issue also appears partly born of
intense frustration at past failures to ram the genocide bill through
Congress while it was controlled by Republicans.

"For 25 years I have been told — because I have sponsored a single
resolution for a quarter of a century — I have been told that this
was not the right time to pass this," said House Democratic majority
leader Steny Hoyer.

In 2000, it was pressure by the Democratic administration of
president Bill Clinton, concerned about damage to relations with a
key political ally, which thwarted the measure.

The same committee passed a similar resolution in 2005, but the
Republican leadership stopped it from being brought to the full House
floor in order to spare Bush embarrassment.

No such sentiment applies to Democrats, who are locked in a tense
political showdown with the White House, on issues as diverse as
Iraq, children’s health care and a ‘war on terror’ wiretap program.

Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi is determined that will not happen
again, despite unusual and outspoken public entreaties from Bush,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert
Gates.

"I said, if it comes out of committee, it will go to the floor. Now,
it has come out of committee, and it will go to the floor," she said
Thursday.

Frustrated by years in the political wilderness, Democrats give every
sign that they plan to wield the power granted to them when they
routed Republicans in last November’s congressional elections.

George Harris, a former State Department analyst now at the Middle
East Institute, said the machinations of domestic politics were
playing a key role in the affair — one year out from the next
presidential elections.

"The Democrats won control of Congress and they have to show they can
do something," he said, adding that Pelosi, like many others who
support the bill have powerful constituents in the Armenian
community.

The issue has also seen a fierce lobbying effort on Capitol Hill,
where senior Turkish officials meeting top Democrats and high-priced
lobbyists employed by the Turks and the Armenian exile community
here.

Pelosi, who represents a liberal district in San Francisco has long
been a supporter of the Armenian genocide measure, and it would have
been hard for politically to turn her back on it, as the leader of
her party.

The Armenian National Committee of America, an exile group, gives
Pelosi an ‘A’ rating on its report card on various issues important
to the community.

Michael Rubin, a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute in
Washington, named this week as an advisor to former New York
Repubican mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s campaign, also saw political
motives at play.

"We’re in election season right now. Unfortunately, many people in
Congress are more concerned with posturing than consequences," he
said.