HOUSE, NOT HISTORIAN
Indiana Daily Student
74407
March 11 2010
The House Foreign Relations Committee’s recent vote to approve a
resolution recognizing the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million ethnic
Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923 was
inappropriate and unproductive.
Although few Western historians dispute the fact that this slaughter
constituted genocide, we disagree with the notion that the United
States House of Representatives should be the final arbiter of
historical fact.
Not only is doing so obviously outside the scope of Congress’ duties,
but it is also both a distraction from the tangible actions Congress
can and should take to combat genocide and a detriment to U.S. efforts
in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Instead of issuing non-binding resolutions defining historical events
that happened more than 90 years ago, the House (and the federal
government as a whole) would do better to take concrete actions toward
stopping ongoing events of this kind and adopting policies that would
better prevent such events from happening in the future.
Regarding concerns about this resolution’s effects on U.S.-Turkey
relations, fortunately prospects for the resolution’s passage in the
House as a whole appear dim. If that were not the case, U.S. diplomats
would have even more of a problem on their hands.
Given that Turkey has already recalled its ambassador from Washington,
we can only hope that the House realizes the folly of passing such
an ineffectual resolution.
If it does not, it risks jeopardizing one of the United States’
most important relationships in the region.
Turkey allows the United States to operate air bases essential to
ongoing efforts in Iraq and is leading operations in Kabul in its
capacity as one of the few members of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization to provide meaningful support to operations there.
Maintaining amicable relations with Turkey is thus vital to U.S.
military goals in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
For the House to tell the world something it already knows at the price
of harming our relationship with a major ally strikes us as foolish.
DISSENT The House Foreign Affairs Committee was right to recognize
genocide.
Language is key in the way history is recorded and sets a precedent
for what will be tolerated. For this reason, the House Foreign Affairs
Committee’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of
Ottoman Turks during World War I is a vital factor in the way we deal
with genocide.
Some argue that because Congress never declared the Holocaust to be
genocide, the Armenian Genocide does not need recognition either.
While Congress has never passed a resolution labeling the Holocaust
as genocide, the United Nations has designated Jan. 27 to be the
International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the
Holocaust. There are also 25 Holocaust memorial centers across the
United States, but there is only one Armenian Genocide museum, which
is not yet completed.
Others argue that the committee’s resolution will strain our relations
with Turkey and damage our ability to retain our military presence
there. In reality, U.S.-Turkey relations will not be significantly
damaged unless the resolution is passed by the full House, which is
deemed unlikely by analysts.
Twenty nations have already declared the Armenian Genocide as such.
The U.S. has already forgone several opportunities to stop genocide
throughout the past century — so they should do what they can now. .
— Pooja Kansal