EDITORIAL: ARMENIAN RESOLUTION NOT IN CURRENT INTERESTS
Baylor University The Lariat Online, TX
Oct 17 2007
The notion of "too little, too late," is appropriate to an issue that
has risen in regard to the Armenian genocide resolution that was sent
to Congress last week.
The resolution, which would officially declare the Turkish killing
and relocation of up to as many as 1.5 million Armenians as genocide,
could not come at a worse time. Sadly, the resolution has raised a
fire storm of controversy in Washington.
The U.S. and Turkey are NATO allies, and we currently use the
Incirlik Air Base in eastern Turkey as a strategic center for military
operations in Iraq. Turkish trucks are also used to transport crucial
supplies for American military operations in Iraq.
Though it seems we have probably gotten ourselves into enough trouble
in Iraq, it is becoming more and more obvious that we just can’t
resist digging the hole (that we already can’t seem to get out of)
even deeper.
Turkish officials have been quick to warn that the passage of this
resolution could be fatal to the alliance we currently have with them.
Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, chief of Turkey’s armed forces, said "our
military relations with the U.S. would never be as they were in the
past … the U.S., in that respect, has shot itself in the foot."
The resolution is based on the killing of an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians by the Ottoman empire between 1915 and 1923. The Turkish
government receives much of the blame for planning and administering
the attempted annihilation of the entire Armenian population —
which included massacres, torture, deportation and starvation —
but they refuse to label it a genocide.
Genocide is defined as the deliberate extermination of a national,
racial, political or culture group. The events involving the Armenians
have long been considered genocide by many human rights advocates
around the world.
The only difference now, more than 80 years after the events took
place, is that it would be symbolically declared as such by the
U.S. government.
>From a human rights standpoint, this is a significant acknowledgement
and is long overdue. But the fact is, the U.S. picked the wrong time
to bring up the issue.
The Bush administration is actively trying to keep the resolution
from being passed, but Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
said the resolution will be voted on by Congress.
We obviously condemn the acts of mass killings and torture, but at
this time, the passage of this resolution is not a necessity and may
do more harm than good.
For once, the Bush administration may be on to something. If the
House of Representatives passes the resolution, our objectives in
Iraq (whatever they are these days) may be put in jeopardy due to
the stubbornness of the Turkish government.
Faced with the potential loss of a key ally in Turkey, we cannot
afford to risk prolonging the war in any way. It is unfortunate that
we are in this position, but we may face more obstacles as we struggle
to find more allies among a pool of ever-decreasing countries who
support our efforts in Iraq.
It is sad that we find ourselves in the position of having to choose
between calling a genocide a genocide and protecting our troops,
but such is the course of U.S. foreign policy as of late.
While the House may be trying to do something positive in the midst
of abounding negativity, the consequences of this action prove too
damaging to actually bring about the desired outcome.