RECOGNIZING TURKISH GENOCIDE WOULDN’T HELP US
Peter Leslie

The Vail Trail, CO
Nov 1 2007

Remember the fuss the Democrats made about delays in sending Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to Iraq? In a letter to
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Senator Joe Biden wrote that the
delays cost the lives of an estimated 621 to 742 Americans who would
have survived explosions had they been in MRAPs, rather than Humvees.

So why is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acting so irresponsibly in
pushing for a non-binding resolution about genocidal events that
happened against Armenians in 1915; a resolution that is considered
insulting and is fiercely resisted by our NATO ally, Turkey? The
resolution has already passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee
and the next step would be to go to the House floor for a vote.

Ninety-five percent of MRAPs are being flown into Iraq through
Turkey. About a third of American fuel supplies pass through Turkey,
as does about 70 percent of American air freight.

"If this resolution passes, our military ties with the U.S. will
never be the same again," claims Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Turkey’s chief
of staff. Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador for consultations,
and, on Oct. 17, Turkish legislators authorized the use of military
force against PKK, a Kurdish terrorist group that finds sanctuary in
Northern Iraq.

Turks are angry that our Kurdish allies in Iraq refuse to restrain the
PKK who have been killing Turkish soldiers. Only last week a PKK ambush
Sunday killed at least 17 Turkish soldiers, wounding 16 others. Turks
are concerned that the U.S. has failed to pressure the Kurds, even
when the PKK apparently uses American weapons to kill Turks.

And now our House Democrats are adding fuel to the flames by passing
resolutions condemning the Turks for a genocide that took place
92 years ago. When a similar measure came up in the House in 2000,
President Bill Clinton persuaded Speaker Dennis Hastert to keep it
off the floor.

But Speaker Pelosi seems determined to carry out her own
ill-conceived foreign policy, regardless of consequences. Eight
former U.S. secretaries of state, including Henry Kissinger, Warren
Christopher, Madeleine Albright and Colin L. Powell oppose the
resolution. In a letter to Pelosi, urging her not to let the resolution
reach the House floor, they wrote: "Passage of the resolution would
… strain our relations with Turkey, and would endanger our national
security interests in the region, including the safety of our troops
in Iraq and Afghanistan."

But Pelosi’s view is: "There’s never been a good time," adding that it
is important to pass the resolution now "because many of the survivors
are very old."

Even anti-war Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania, one of Pelosi’s closest
allies, has been extremely critical. He warned her in February that
the resolution could erode U.S. support in the Middle East. "This is
not a way to help us in an area where we need allies," Murtha said. He
is working to persuade Pelosi to drop the matter, and that as many as
60 Democrats would oppose the resolution and it would fail any vote of
the full House. "It’s impractical at this point to go forward with it."

And Rep. John Tanner adds: "We believe that this resolution at this
time takes away or impedes our ability to bring the most swift,
rapid resolution of this situation in Iraq to a conclusion that is
beneficial to our country."

Turkey is a long-time NATO ally, has a population that is 99 percent
Muslim and has held the line with us against both Communist and
Islamist aggression, sending its soldiers to fight and die alongside
ours, on battlefields from Korea to Afghanistan. At a time when
Democrats criticize the Bush Administration for alienating Muslims
worldwide, we can ill afford to offend a critical Muslim ally.

Political science professor John Pitney of Claremont McKenna College
comments: "This is proving to be a lesson to the leadership to think
through the long-term consequences." I could not agree more.

Peter Leslie is a former Director and CFO of the United Nations
Development Program and lives in Vail.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress