OFFENDING ALLIES

Dothan Eagle, AL
Oct 17 2007

"No man is an island, entire of itself …" — John Donne, Meditation
XVII

Much of the world takes a dim view of the United States these days.

Our president is seen by foreigners in countless nations as an
arrogant cowboy, a bully who sent U.S. troops to attack Iraq without
provocation.

As time goes by, the Bush administration’s foreign policy has pushed
our friends aside, and the United States finds itself with fewer and
fewer allies.

One of our nation’s dearest friends these days is Turkey. It is
virtually our only Islamic ally in NATO and in the war on terror
and has provided an invaluable service in the Iraq War by allowing
the U.S. to operate a base from which to launch aircraft in the
Middle East.

Why, then, is the U.S. House of Representatives hell-bent on adopting a
resolution charging the Turks with genocide in the deaths of Armenians
during a war almost a century ago?

The measure, which will go before the full House for a vote, will
accomplish nothing positive for the United States, but will appease
many Armenian voters in the constituencies of several powerful
lawmakers, like Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

And there is a significant downside to the measure: The Turkish
government is greatly offended by the resolution, and polls suggest
the vast majority of Turkish citizens favor withdrawing support of
the U.S. should the resolution be approved.

At a time when we need all the friends we can get, it makes no sense
to alienate one of our most valuable allies with semantics in a
resolution about an event that occurred almost a century ago.

If Congress wants to condemn genocide, it should be reminded that
action speaks louder than words.

Thousands of innocent Sudanese are being slaughtered in a genocidal
campaign in Darfur, and have been for months, yet the U.S. and much
of the rest of the world has stood by and done nothing.

President Bush, whose arrogant dismissal of the opinions of leaders
around the globe marked our attack on Saddam Hussein’s regime, has
apparently come to learn that John Donne was right.

He has condemned the House resolution, as have eight former Secretaries
of State.

Speaker Pelosi and the U.S. House should listen, weigh the dire
consequences and drop this ill-conceived pursuit.

oasteast/dea/opinion.apx.-content-articles-DEA-200 7-10-17-0015.html

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress