TURKISH ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL LOSES HOUSE SUPPORT
By David Rogers

Wall Street Journal
Oct 17 2007

WASHINGTON — Pressed by the White House and Turkish lobby, as many
as 11 House members have withdrawn as co-sponsors of a resolution
labeling the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire a
century ago as "genocide."

Seven members pulled their names from the measure Monday and four
more as of Tuesday, leaving passage of the bill in doubt. The rapid
erosion signals momentum has shifted in favor of Turkey and the Bush
administration, which has urged the Democratic leadership to block
a vote on the resolution, reported from the House Foreign Affairs
Committee last week.

"It couldn’t pass if it came up today," said Rep. John Murtha (D.,
Pa.) who has played a major role behind-the-scenes in helping to
pull members off the bill. While not ready to give up the fight,
Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Cal.), the chief sponsor, conceded the powers
arrayed against him.

"We have truth on our side but truth doesn’t always win," Mr. Schiff
said.

Though non-binding, the language has huge political importance to
the Armenian-American community even as it has angered the Turkish
government, which has mounted a strong lobbying campaign enlisting
prominent veterans of Congress from both parties. Turkey recalled
its ambassador to the U.S. last week after the committee vote, and
as a NATO ally and vital supply route for on-going U.S. military
operations in neighboring Iraq, Turkey commands strong allies among
Democrats on prominent defense committees.

The Pentagon is preparing plans to send military supplies bound
for U.S. forces in Iraq through other countries if Turkey carries
through on threat to close its air space as part of a widening
political dispute with the U.S. Such a move would pose major logistical
challenges for the American military, which brings enormous quantities
of food, fuel, ammunition, spare parts and vehicles into Iraq every
month through the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) remains supportive nonetheless and
has pledged to allow a vote this year. But if support continues to
erode, her allies say she won’t bring the measure up if it only means
an embarrassing defeat.

Co-sponsor lists aren’t a decisive measure of support for a bill in
Congress and pressure from the Armenian-American community could yet
reverse the situation. But the erosion is striking: as of last week
the number of sponsors was listed at 226; it has now fallen to 215,
three below the required 218 majority in the House.

"There are a number of people who are revisiting their own positions
and we’ll have to determine where everyone is," said Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), who remains supportive.

Write to David Rogers at david.rogers@wsj.com
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