SPONSORS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION BACK OFF
By Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times, CA
Oct 26 2007
October 25, 2007 WASHINGTON — Yielding to fierce diplomatic and
political pressure, congressional sponsors of an Armenian genocide
resolution abruptly put off a vote on the measure Thursday and defused
a mounting confrontation with Turkey that was threatening to hamper
the U.S. war effort in Iraq. The decision was a swift reversal for
the long-debated resolution, disappointing supporters who only two
weeks ago were optimistic that the House would approve it. "We’re
not going to bring it up until we’re confident we have the votes
to pass it," said Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., who introduced the
measure. "It’s going to take some time." The action extricated House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., from the clash between a powerful
constituency in California and an important U.S. military ally. As
the measure approached a vote, the Turkish government warned it could
lead to a rupture in relations and disrupt U.S. military operations
in Iraq. Most of the supplies headed to U.S. forces in Iraq are flown
through Turkey. The issue also came up as the U.S. was imploring
Turkey not to send forces into northern Iraq to curb Kurdish rebel
attacks. Republican opponents welcomed the delay and blamed Pelosi
for a miscalculation on an important foreign policy matter.
"Fortunately, the right decision was made before this debacle turned
into a full-blown national security crisis," said Minority Leader John
A. Boehner, R-Ohio. The resolution’s backers once counted a majority
of the House as sponsors. When it cleared the Foreign Affairs Committee
two weeks ago, Pelosi pledged to bring it to the floor. "When it passed
out of Foreign Affairs, I thought it was finally going to happen,"
said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif., a sponsor of the resolution,
which calls on the president to "accurately characterize the systematic
and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide." But
support began to drain away as President Bush and Turkey escalated
their warnings and the situation in northern Iraq deteriorated. Two
dozen representatives have withdrawn their support since the resolution
was introduced, raising doubts about whether it could pass. Supporters
said Pelosi remains committed to the measure and that they had no
choice but to bow to political reality. "If this were to come up
to the floor today, it would be too close to call," said Rep. Brad
Sherman, D-Calif. They stressed that they are delaying the vote only
to buy time to rebuild political support. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich.,
co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues who has
pressed the resolution for more than a decade, said he was hopeful.
"We have never been anywhere near this close. Never," he said. "I
don’t think we’re going to give up." The Turkish government disputes
that the World War I era killings of more than a million Armenians
by the Ottoman Turks was a genocide, contending that both Turks
and Armenians were casualties of the war, famine and disease. But
historical evidence and authoritative research support the term, and
the Los Angeles Times’ policy is to refer to the deaths as genocide.