Indian Muslims, CA
Oct 12 2007

US tries to calm Turkey after congressional panel OKs Armenian
genocide measure

on Fri, 10/12/2007 – 03:19. Muslim World News

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, SPA — The Bush administration will look to
soothe Turkish anger after a congressional panel’s approval of a
measure describing as genocide the deaths of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians early in the last century, reported ap.

After the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives
defied warnings by President George W. Bush with 27-21 approval
Wednesday to send the measure to the full House for a vote, the
administration will now try to pressure Democratic leaders not to
schedule a vote.

If the measure is brought to the floor for a vote, it is expected to
pass. Hours before the vote, Bush and his top two Cabinet members
other senior officials made last-minute appeals to lawmakers to
reject the measure.«Its passage would do great harm to our relations
with a key ally in NATO and in the global war on terror,» Bush said a
few hours before.

Afterward, it fell to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack to
enunciate the government’s dismay at the event.He expressed continued
strong opposition and said passage of the resolution would gravely
harm U.S.-Turkish relations and U.S. interests in Europe and the
Middle East.