Kommersant, Russia
Oct 12 2007

The Ottoman Empire of Evil
// U.S.-Turkish relations may be badly strained by the recognition of
the genocide of Armenians

by Sergey Strokan

Tensions are mounting between the United States and its strategic
partner Turkey after Congress’s committee passed a resolution to
officially recognize the massacre of Armenians under the Turkish
Ottoman Empire as a genocide. Democrats dealt a severe blow on
America’s position in the region in an effort to do President Bush a
bad turn. Ankara may now refuse the United States the access to a
military base which plays the key part in operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan and launch an offensive against Kurdish militants in
northern Iraq. The region is also in for a powerful wave of
anti-American sentiment.
Stop Congress!

Reports that the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee
is going to consider a draft resolution on Wednesday to recognize the
genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire came as shock news for
the White House. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promptly
rang up President Bush last Friday and warned him of unavoidable
negative consequences for U.S.-Turkish relations in case the
resolution is adopted. Turkish President Abdullah Gul also sent a
warning to the U.S. administration.

The White House was extremely concerned but not by the appearance of
the resolution in the House of Representatives which declares the
early 20th century killings of Armenians as a genocide. U.S. Congress
has repeatedly tried to pass this initiative including votes under
the Clinton administration but always fell flat. This time, 226
representatives signed on the resolution as co-sponsors, which meant
that an idea to recognize the genocide of Armenians for the first
time received support of more than one half of the chamber. The
resolution had a chance to be adopted in case it was put to vote in
the full House.

The Bush administration was aware of the irreparable damage and tried
all tools at its disposal to turn off emergency braking and block the
adoption. Secretary of State Condoleezza and Secretary Defense Robert
Gates were called to rescue as they addressed Congress. They warned
that the resolution on the genocide of Armenians `will endanger
America’s national security interests’. The U.S. Department of State
also gathered signatures of American diplomatic pundits who sent
another appeal to Congress. The joint letter with a plea not to pass
the resolution was signed by eight former U.S. secretaries of state
including Republicans and Democrats Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell,
Madeleine Albright and James Baker.

Those who tried to stop Congress representatives in Washington were
joined by Commander of U.S. troops in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus and
U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker. In a televised address they
reminded the lawmakers that 70 percent of air cargo for Iraq goes
through Turkey. Overall, infrastructure in Iraq-neighboring Turkey is
critically important for the continuation of the operation in Iraq,
David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker underscored.

Finally, the last tool to convince the lawmakers was an appeal of
President Bush which was voiced three hours before the session of the
foreign affairs committee. Mr. Bush said he `deeply regret the tragic
suffering of the Armenian people’ but warned Congress from the move
that could have far-reaching consequences for the United States.
`This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass
killings, and its passage would do great harm to our relations with a
key ally in NATO and the global war non terror,’ President Bush said.

After all ways of torpedoing the controversial resolution were
exhausted the White House only had to wait for the decision of the
legislators.

Following Russia’s Example

Meanwhile, the Capitol on Wednesday was full of sentiment and
arguments quite different from those cited by Mr. Bush’s team. It is
symbolical that the session of the U.S. House of Representatives was
opened by a prayer of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
Garegin II who was on a three-day in Washington in this decisive
moment.

Blunt Democrat Tom Lantos, head of the foreign affairs committee,
sent the tone for the debate. He said the George Bush Jnr.
administration as well as administration of George Bush Snr. and Bill
Clinton did not venture to restore historic justice in line with
Democratic values which America professes because of geopolitical
interests in the Middle East. `We have to weigh the desire to express
our solidarity with the Armenian people and to condemn this historic
nightmare through the use of the word `genocide’,’ Mr. Lantos told
the House.

Congressman Lantos, who traditionally emphasizes America’s special
mission, got support from another Democrat, Brad Sherman. `It is
right for Congress to recognize this genocide, we must do it,’ he
said. `Genocide denial is not just the last step of a genocide, it is
the first step in the next genocide.’

It is worth noting that co-sponsors of the resolution cited Russia as
an example to prove that the draft must be passed. Unlike the United
States, Russia recognized the genocide of Armenians. Another
Democrat, Rep. James Costa called on his colleagues not to be afraid
of Ankara’s threats saying there will be no `serious consequences’
for the bilateral ties. `After Russia recognized in 1995 the
Genocide, its trade turnover with Turkey increased by 351 percent,’
he said.

The House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee voted 27-21
to pass the resolution calling to take into account in U.S. foreign
policy the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The document
reminds that `on May 24, 1915, the Allied Powers, England, France,
and Russia, jointly issued a statement explicitly charging for the
first time ever another government of committing `a crime against
humanity’. The resolutions calls on the U.S. president in his `annual
message commemorating the Armenian Genocide issued on April 24 to
accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of
1,500,000 Armenians as genocide.’

What Ankara May Say

After the House of Representatives ignored the Bush administration’s
warning Washington observers ask what will happen to the resolution
and what long-term consequences it many have for the United States
and its interests in the region. The House of Representatives’
speaker Nancy Pelosi, an active advocate of recognizing the genocide
of Armenians, has promised to put the resolution on vote in the full
House during the current session of Congress.

The resolution has no binding force, and President Bush can ignore it
just like his opponents ignored the White House’s appeals not to
tease Turkey. However, the document has become a symbolic gesture
which really affected Ankara in a very sensitive issue. It is quite
possible that Turkish authorities will not limit themselves to
statements which condemn the decision of American lawmakers and take
more radical measures in reply.

In one of these moves Turkey make decide to restrict or close the
access to the strategically important Turkish air force base in
Ircilink for American aviation which takes part in operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan. The Washington Post daily reported this possibility
on Wednesday citing high-placed Turkish sources.

In addition, Turkish Parliament may sanction an operation in northern
Iraq to fight Kurdish separatists. The vote on the Armenian genocide
resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives happened at a very
inconvenient moment for the Bush administration when the Turkish
government addressed Parliament to endorse a military operation in
neighboring Iraq against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers
Party. Washington vehemently opposes Turkey’s plan to invade northern
Iraq. But advocates of the operation in Ankara have just got a
serious argument in the favor of the military move.

Finally, the decision of American lawmakers may bring a new wave of
anti-Americanism in Turkey and allied countries in the East which are
unhappy about what they call `an attempt to rewrite the history’. The
U.S. Embassy to Turkey has already warned American citizens in the
country of a pending threat due to the passage of the controversial
resolution.

http://www.kommersan t.com/p813926/r_527/Congress_Armenians_Genocide_Tu rkey/