Genocide resolution’s support is fading
Some House sponsors, while agreeing with Armenians on history, think
the international implications are risky.
By Richard Simon
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 17, 2007
WASHINGTON – A controversial measure to officially recognize the
Armenian genocide, which only days ago appeared headed for approval in
the House, has begun to lose support. The change comes in the face of
furious protests by the Turkish government and warnings of possible
repercussions for U.S. military operations in Iraq.
Seven representatives withdrew as cosponsors on Monday, followed by at
least four more Tuesday. Since Jan. 30, when the resolution was
introduced, at least 21 representatives have pulled their names,
leaving 215 cosponsors — short of a majority of the House.
"Now is not the appropriate time for us to stick our finger in the eye
of an important ally," said Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), who removed
himself as a cosponsor on Monday.
The House resolution poses a quandary for Democratic supporters,
particularly Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who has promised
to bring it to the floor
Armenian Americans, an important constituency in California, have
pushed for years to get Congress to declare the early 20th century
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a genocide. But some Democrats
have grown increasingly uneasy about voting for a resolution that
could be seen as harming national security or jeopardizing U.S. troops
in Iraq.
President Bush telephoned Pelosi on Tuesday to urge her not to bring
up the resolution, which calls on the president to "accurately
characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000
Armenians as genocide." Pelosi said on national television Sunday that
she had never heard from the president on the issue. Nine of the 11
lawmakers who withdrew their support this week are Democrats, and one
of Pelosi’s closest allies — Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of
the House Defense Appropriations Committee — is working to defeat the
measure. The House leadership has yet to set a date for a vote but has
been aiming to hold it before Thanksgiving.
Although the number of cosponsors is not necessarily an indication of
a measure’s fate — some lawmakers have signaled their support for the
resolution even though they are not cosponsors — supporters believed
the measure had its best chance in years to pass after more than half
of the House members signed on.
The sudden drop in support comes less than week after the resolution
cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
That vote angered Turkey, which could disrupt military operations in
Iraq by denying the U.S. access to Incirlik — a crucial air base used
to supply troops. At the same time, the Turkish prime minister is
weighing a raid into northern Iraq to hit Kurdish rebels. That could
destabilize the safest region in Iraq.
Supporters and opponents of the genocide resolution now believe that
the vote could be tight, and both sides have stepped up their
lobbying.
Gordon Johndroe, the National Security Council spokesman, said that
top administration officials have been on the phone to House members.
"We continue to urge the House not to take up the measure," Johndroe
said. "Calls have been made at all levels, up to the president."
Supporters noted that several members of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee back the resolution, even though they were not cosponsors.
"We have got to go on the counterattack," said Rep. Brad Sherman
(D-Sherman Oaks). "If we had the vote today, it would be close."
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the bill’s chief sponsor,
acknowledged that it would not be an easy fight. "When you think about
what we have against us — the president, a foreign policy
establishment that has condoned this campaign of denial, the Turkish
lobby," he said, "against that you have the truth, which is a powerful
thing but doesn’t always win out."
Trent Wisecup, an aide to Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.), co-chairman
of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, called on Pelosi to
throw around her political weight. "Time to step up, Madame Speaker,"
he said. Pelosi has said that she will not seek to pressure
colleagues, calling it a vote of conscience.
A number of the resolution’s supporters said they were still hopeful
it would pass. "The support continues to be strong, and it continues
to be bipartisan," said Elizabeth S. Chouldjian of the Armenian
National Committee of America.
"Some congressional offices have told us, ‘I’m with you but I’m not
going to put my name on a piece of paper so that I become a target of
the Gephardts and Livingstons of the world,’ " she added. She was
referring to the Turkish government’s heavyweight lobbyists: Richard
Gephardt, a former House Democratic leader, and Robert Livingston, a
Republican who was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Several lawmakers who have backed away from the resolution said that
they had become convinced that the situation in the Middle East was
too volatile to support a symbolic resolution that jeopardized the
relationship the U.S. has with a critical Muslim ally.
Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), one of those who pulled her
name as a cosponsor, said: "I do not condone the genocide. I just
think the timing is bad."
Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) said he withdrew as a cosponsor after Army
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, warned him
during a recent trip to Baghdad that the resolution could harm U.S.
security interests.
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), who also withdrew as a cosponsor, said
that he had "no doubt that the Armenian people endured unspeakable
suffering and loss at the hand of the Ottoman Empire." But he said, "I
am not willing to place our military forces at risk or upset a
delicate diplomatic situation on the northern border of Iraq."
The Bush administration has warned that House passage of the
resolution could lead Turkey to restrict U.S. use of its land, ports
and airspace to supply troops in Iraq.
Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said the United States was pressing Turkey to continue to allow
supplies to go through its territory, but could find other access
routes.
"We’re confident that we’ll find ways to be able to do that," he said.
Some of the House members who withdrew their support for the
resolution acknowledged that they had been unaware of the
ramifications it could have. "Had I known when I signed the resolution
that it would develop into this huge of an issue, I would have
refrained from signing," said Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.).
Rep. Wally Herger (R-Chico), who also pulled his name as a cosponsor,
said, "Currently, the United States is dealing with the grave and
ongoing threat posed by worldwide radical jihadists and we simply
cannot allow the grievances of the past — as real as they may be —
to in any way derail our efforts to prevent further atrocities for
future history books."
richard.simon@latimes.com
Times staff writers Julian E. Barnes and Paul Richter contributed to
this report.
Source: la-na-genocide17oct17,1,6732163.story?ctrack=6& ;cset=true