AP: President Obama in a bind over Armenian Genocide vote in House committee

28.02.2010 16:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US President Barack Obama is in a bind as a House
committee prepares to vote on a resolution that would recognize the
World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as Genocide.

While a White House candidate, then-Sen. Obama said he believed the
killings were Genocide. A congressional resolution to that effect
could alienate Turkey, a NATO ally and traditional friend of the
United States that is crucial to America’s foreign policy goals.

Past administrations have defeated similar resolutions through public
cajoling about national security interests and with behind-the-scenes
lobbying.

So far, however, the Obama administration has taken no public position
on the measure, set for a vote Thursday by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. Aides to senior lawmakers on the committee say there has
been no pressure against the resolution from the White House. The
administration was informed ahead of time that the committee would be
scheduling the vote, according to Lynn Weil, spokeswoman for the
committee’s chairman, Rep. Howard Berman.

Turkey long has made clear that the issue could affect relations with the U.S.

A positive vote by Berman’s committee would send the resolution to the
full House.

The U.S. still wants Turkey’s support for its operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan. It also is pressing Turkey, which holds a rotating seat
in the U.N. Security Council, to support penalties against Iran,
Turkey’s neighbor.

The committee is strongly pro-Israel, and prospects for passage could
be affected by rising tensions between Turkey and Israel, as well as
Turkey’s relatively warm relationship with Iran. In the past, Turkey
and Israel had friendlier relations, and Israel had quietly lobbied
against the resolution.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies
that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been
inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

This year, some Armenian groups and lawmakers are expressing optimism
on the resolution’s prospects, noting that Obama, Vice President Joe
Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton all supported
recognition when they served in the Senate.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who introduced the resolution for
consideration, said he sees more favorable conditions than in 2007.

"Last time we had President Bush calling lawmakers at their homes to
oppose the resolution," he said.

In April, Obama broke a campaign promise to brand the killings
genocide in an annual White House statement on the day marking
Armenian remembrance. Obama said that while he had not changed his
personal views, he did not want to upset promising talks between
Turkey and Armenia on improving relations and opening their border.

"Our interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts," said White House spokesman Mike Hammer,
when asked about the resolution. "We continue to believe that the best
way to advance that goal is for the Armenian and Turkish people to
address the facts of the past as a part of their ongoing efforts to
normalize relations."

Hammer would not elaborate on the administration’s position on the
resolution, The Associated Press reported.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress