CONGRESS’ ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL COULD HURT U.S. OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ
All Headline News
March 21 2007
Matthew Borghese – All Headline News Staff Writer Washington,
D.C. (AHN) – A senior leader within the U.S. Department of Defense says
that a bill before the House of Representatives (HR 106) which aims to
label the killing of over 1 million Armenians in Turkey a "genocide,"
may harm American combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Robertus Remkes, Director of Strategy, Policy and
Assessments at U.S. European Command (EUCOM) says the bill, introduced
by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and backed by House Speaker Rep. Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) could "impact to our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan."
According to the Pentagon’s Stars and Stripes, a February article
by F. Stephen Larrabee and Suat Kiniklioglu of Rand Corp found that
"Some 60 percent of all U.S. military equipment destined for Iraq
goes through the territory or airspace of Turkey."
"If this route to Iraq were restricted or closed entirely, the ability
of the United States to effectively combat the insurgency and violent
militias in Iraq would be impaired."
The deaths, which occurred during World War I, remain a contentious
issue in modern-day Turkey. Ankara maintains that the deaths were the
result of a civil war, not a targeted and systematic ethnic genocide.
The bill, which would not bring sanctions against Turkey for the
crimes, would call "upon the President to ensure that the foreign
policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding
and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic
cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating
to the Armenian Genocide."