Armenian Genocide Bill 2007

[vava]

Excellent. Now the next step will be up to Nancy

[Maral]

Excellent. Now the next step will be up to Nancy

Nancy is our new best friend!

[Zartonk]

Momentous day

[Anoushik]

It was an interesting day today! Simply awesome!

 

 

They were talking about the resolution on CNN and FOX news

Yes, when I was watching it was around 3pm here in LA. CNN was very disappointing, describing the events as "the idiocy of the House" to pass the resolution at a very unconventional time for the U.S.

 

FOX was surprising. At 3pm here was Brit Hume's show. Before going to the first break he announced that coming up he'd talk about the events taking place in the House this morning and "why it's so controversial". After the break as his show came back from commercial there was loud music playing in the background, and the music continued for around 30 seconds as Brit started talking without any sound (only his lips were moving) and the loud music continued. It seemed like there was a technical problem but honestly, I've never seen that happen on FOX before or on any channel on our Charter cable. Unfortunately, for someone who wasn't familiar about the Armenian Genocide bill the rest of the report wouldn't make any sense. The normal sound came on only after presumably Brit had made the introduction about the report and after they had started the previously taped report, which wasn't long anyway. I don't like conspiracy theories, but this surely made me think about whether this wasn't deliberately done.

[Lev7]

WASHINGTON - A House panel defied President Bush on Wednesday and approved a measure that he said would damage U.S. goals in the Middle East.

 

The measure that would recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians as a genocide had been strongly opposed by Turkey, a key NATO ally that has supported U.S. efforts in Iraq.

 

The House Foreign Affairs Committee's 27-21 vote now sends the measure to the House floor — unless the Democratic leadership reverses course and heeds Bush's warnings.

 

At issue is the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, says the toll has been inflated and insists that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

 

Bush and other senior officials made a last-minute push to persuade lawmakers on the Foreign Affairs Committee to reject the measure.

 

"Its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in NATO and in the global war on terror," Bush said hours before the vote.

 

The committee's chairman, Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos, expressed concerns about security implications of the resolution but ultimately voted in favor.

 

Turkey raised the possibility of impeding logistical and other U.S. military traffic now using Turkish airspace.

 

"Unfortunately, some politicians in the United States have once again sacrificed important matters to petty domestic politics despite all calls to commonsense," President Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Anatolia.

 

"Naturally, this is a sad decision," said Nabi Sensoy, Turkey's ambassador to the U.S., minutes after the vote. "No one can allow others to put an undeserved stain on them."

 

On Wednesday, hundreds of Turks marched to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul to protest the bill.

 

Armenian-American groups, who have worked for decades to pass a resolution, rejoiced at the committee's approval of the message.

 

"The Foreign Affairs Committee's adoption today of the Armenian Genocide Resolution represents a meaningful step toward reclaiming our right_ as Americans — to speak openly and honestly about the first genocide of the 20th Century," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

 

Earlier, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates conveyed their concerns.

 

Passing the measure "at this time would be very problematic for everything we are trying to do in the Middle East," Rice told reporters at the White House.

 

The vote comes at a tense time in the region. Turkey's government is seeking parliamentary approval for a military operation to chase separatist Kurdish rebels who operate from bases in northern Iraq. The move, opposed by the U.S., could open a new front in the most stable part of Iraq.

 

The White House and Turkey are now expected to pressure Democratic leaders to keep the measure from going to a vote. But Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has signaled that they will have a hard sell.

 

The administration made clear the stakes are high.

 

Gates said 70 percent of U.S. air cargo headed for Iraq goes through Turkey, as does about one-third of the fuel used by the U.S. military in Iraq.

 

"Access to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and Turkey reacts as strongly as we believe they will," Gates said. He also said that 95 percent of new vehicles designed to better protect against mine attacks are being flown through Turkey to get to Iraq.

 

Lawmakers from both parties who supported the proposal said the moral implications outweighed security concerns and friendship with Turkey.

 

"The sad truth is that the modern government of Turkey refuses to come to terms with this genocide," said Rep. Chris Smith, R.-N.J. "For Armenians everywhere, the Turkish government's denial is a slap in the face."

 

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the resolution's sponsor, who is not on the committee, said that he hoped that it would now move quickly to a vote on the House floor.

 

"America must speak candidly about the past not only to help heal the wounds of the survivors and the families of the victims, but to give the United States the moral authority it needs to take action against other genocides like that taking place today in Darfur," he said following the vote.

 

Pelosi and the second-ranking Democrat in the House, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, met Wednesday with Turkish Ambassador Sensoy but emerged from the meeting unswayed. Hoyer told reporters he expects a floor vote on the measure before the House adjourns for the year.

 

Hoyer said he hoped that Turkey would realize it is not a condemnation of its current government but rather of "another government, at another time."

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071011/ap_on_...rmenia_genocide

[Lev7]

BREAKING NEWS AGAIN ON BBC:

 

 

Turkey condemns US Armenia vote

Turkish President Abdullah Gul

Gul said the vote amounted to "domestic political games"

The Turkish president has denounced a vote by a committee of the US Congress recognising as genocide the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

 

President Abdullah Gul said the decision was unacceptable and had no validity for Turkey, which has always denied any genocide took place.

 

The White House said it was very disappointed by the non-binding vote.

 

It fears Turkey could now limit cooperation in the war on terror and provision of military bases near Iraq.

 

The genocide bill passed in the House Foreign Affairs Committee by 27 votes to 21 - the first step towards holding a vote in the House of Representatives.

 

President Bush had argued against a vote in favour of the bill, saying "its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in Nato and in the global war on terror".

 

Turkey is a regional operational hub for the US military, and some suggest access to Incirlik airbase, or other supply lines crucial to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, could be cut in response.

 

'Invalid'

 

President Gul was quick to attack the vote late on Wednesday evening, saying that some US politicians had "closed their ears to calls to be reasonable and once again sought to sacrifice big problems for small domestic political games".

 

Armenian girls holding torches

 

Q&A: Armenian 'genocide'

 

"This unacceptable decision of the committee, like similar ones in the past, is not regarded by the Turkish people as valid or of any value," Mr Gul said, according to the Anatolian news agency.

 

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says it is very unusual to hear such high-level political reaction so late at night from the Turkish government - a sign of how seriously it takes this.

 

Meanwhile in Washington the US Undersecretary of State, Nicholas Burns, told the BBC that the Bush administration was "deeply disappointed".

 

"The United States recognizes the immense suffering of the Armenian people due to mass killings and forced deportations at the end of the Ottoman Empire," he said.

 

"We support a full and fair accounting of the atrocities that befell as many as 1.5m Armenians during World War I, which House Resolution 106 does not do."

 

'Sobering'

 

Correspondents say Wednesday's result means that only a change of heart by the opposition Democrats, who control Congress, can now stop a full vote on the bill.

 

Armenian refugee mother and child (picture taken 1915-16 by German photographer Armin Wegner; reproduced here by permission of the Armenian National Institute)

A German soldier took photos of Armenian deportees at the time

 

Divisions within the Foreign Affairs Committee crossed party lines with eight Democrats voting against the measure and eight Republicans voting for it.

 

Tom Lantos, the committee's chairman, had opened the debate by admitting the resolution posed a "sobering" choice.

 

"We have to weigh the desire to express our solidarity with the Armenian people... against the risk that it could cause young men and women in the uniform of the United States armed services to pay an even heavier price than they are currently paying," he said.

 

Mr Lantos, himself a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust, said he would introduce a resolution praising US-Turkish friendship next week, according to AFP news agency.

 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to take up their version of the resolution in the future.

 

Border concerns

 

The controversy comes at a delicate time for relations between Turkey and the United States, our correspondent says.

 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that the Turkish parliament could discuss a motion as soon as Thursday that would authorise cross border military incursions into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish PKK separatists.

 

The move comes after an escalation in attacks by the PKK killed almost 30 soldiers and civilians in just over a week.

 

Mr Erdogan said such authorisation, which would be valid for one year, would ensure all options were available to Turkey in its fight against the PKK.

 

That includes sending troops into northern Iraq, where the prime minister said more than 3,000 PKK fighters are based. The government is under immense pressure though to act , but Washington has warned Ankara against any unilateral moves that would destabilise Iraq even further.

 

After the Armenian vote in Congress, our correspondent says, Turkey will be far less inclined to heed instructions from the US on anything.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7038900.stm

[Yervant1]

In my opinion this committee resolution leaves turkey in a very bad position. If they do nothing it will mean they accept the verdict, if they retaliate then they will bear the consequence because by picking a tit for tat fight with US will hurt them in the long run.

[Lev7]

In my opinion this committee resolution leaves turkey in a very bad position. If they do nothing it will mean they accept the verdict, if they retaliate then they will bear the consequence because by picking a tit for tat fight with US will hurt them in the long run.

 

But, don't forget a similar resolution was passed in 2005 in the Foreign Relations Committee, so until it passes the House no serious impact is inflicted on Turkey

[Yervant1]

But, don't forget a similar resolution was passed in 2005 in the Foreign Relations Committee, so until it passes the House no serious impact is inflicted on Turkey

But the hype and the build up this time is very different than 2005, by their reaction before and after they wanted to defeat this committee resolution.

[AK-47]

In my opinion this committee resolution leaves turkey in a very bad position. If they do nothing it will mean they accept the verdict, if they retaliate then they will bear the consequence because by picking a tit for tat fight with US will hurt them in the long run.

Yes you are correct, the Turks look like they are in a dilemma. I wonder if it will invade Iraq now as "retaliation"... that will surely piss off the Americans.

 

Oh and Bush has no veto power on this resolution, is this correct? I'm reading reports that say it doesn't need A-Bush's signature for approval.

[MosJan]

yes doesn't need A-Bush's signature for approval - and thank GOD for that

[Error 404]

I guess Turks will now use the "invasion" of Iraq as a political card together with other favours they are doing to US to force to kill the resolution.

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

Turkish foreign minister warns of break with U.S., Israel over WWI Armenian massacre

 

 

The Associated PressPublished: October 9, 2007

 

 

JERUSALEM: Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned that his country's relations with both the United States and Israel could be harmed if the U.S. Congress passes legislation declaring the World War I massacre of Armenians a genocide, according to an interview published Tuesday.

 

Babacan called on Israel to use its influence to stop the legislation. An Israeli official said Babacan expressed his concerns during a meeting with Israel's foreign minister.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Turkey warns U.S. and Israel?

 

 

1. The State Department and Pentagon use Israel to sell weapons to Turkey. Without the support from the White House, the Pentagon, Israel, the jewish lobby, and the big corporations, who the hell is gonna support the turkish generals to run the country?

 

 

2. Without the support from the State Department and the jews, who the hell is gonna represent the turkish interests among the europeans?

 

 

3. Since 1949, with the request of the turks, the U.S. government has been sending billions of $$$ to turkey along with military aid to that country.

 

 

The american interests will be best served if the White House and the big corporations stop supporting the turks and start to listen to the ordinary americans. Sending ameican aid to turkey, along with big companies selling american weapons to the turks, does great harm to the United States of America.

 

 

 

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

I guess Turks will now use the "invasion" of Iraq as a political card together with other favours they are doing to US to force to kill the resolution.

 

Favours? I think it's the other way around. It's the U.S. that does famours to the turks. The U.S. government pays the turks to use their air space to transport goods to Iraq. If the White House and the big corporations stop supporting the turkish generals, the turks will behave differently. The people who go to bed with the turks, think only about their own interests. Invasion of Iraq will cost the turks dearly. The White House cannot afford to let the situation to get out of hand... they simply don't have the support of the american people. Anything bad that will happen in Iraq will be entirely blamed on the turks.

 

I don't think the turks are that stupid not to understand what consequence their action would have...

 

[Arpa]

BREAKING NEWS AGAIN ON BBC:

Turkey condemns US Armenia vote

Turkish President Abdullah Gul

Gul said the vote amounted to "domestic political games"

The Turkish president has denounced a vote by a committee of the US Congress recognising as genocide the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

 

President Abdullah Gul said the decision was unacceptable and had no validity for Turkey, which has always denied any genocide took place.

 

The White House said it was very disappointed by the non-binding vote.

 

It fears Turkey could now limit cooperation in the war on terror and provision of military bases near Iraq.

One can only wonder who these idiots are writing such garbage. Where did they learn to speak English, mind you this is BBC speaking, the homeland of the English language.

Don't they know that "limiting cooperation in the war on terror..." is , to borrow another term from that other idiot Foxman "tantamount" to TERRORISM itself.

Have they not heard of the concept of "guilt by association"? Something that Turkey has been doing for the past 100 years by not disassociating themselves

from the ottomans like the Germans did by dissassocitaing from the Nazis???

Who said morons are not born anymore??!!Speaking of which Americans are not any better for succumbing to "tantamount to terror" and blackmail.

[Arpa]

Turkish foreign minister warns of break with U.S., Israel over WWI Armenian massacre

The Associated PressPublished: October 9, 2007

JERUSALEM: Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned that his country's relations with both the United States and Israel could be harmed if the U.S. Congress passes legislation declaring the World War I massacre of Armenians a genocide, according to an interview published Tuesday.

Yeah right!

Now they will replace Israel with Syria and the US with Iran or Russia!!!

Syria will give them the weapons and Iran and Russia will send them zillions of dollars :goof:

How these morons become foreign ministers!!??

Edited October 11, 2007 by Arpa

[Takoush]

I guess Turks will now use the "invasion" of Iraq as a political card together with other favours they are doing to US to force to kill the resolution.

I don't know but I feel that they won't succeed this time to kill the resolution. Yes favours have been given with billions of dollars to the turks by the US. And if the turks now refuse to collaborate with the US after this, they will only hurt themselves.

 

Which is a good thing. Now we should replace the turks in the caucasus. The US should start sending us the mega bucks and making us big, rich and powerful. Why not?

Edited October 11, 2007 by Anahid Takouhi

[Takoush]

I just sent a thank you note to our representatives and to continue to pass our Res. 106 and to urge the other House Representatives to collaborate with them.

 

It would be very beneficial for our cause if everyone of us would send an e-mail to our house representatives in collaboration with ANCA.

[DominO123]

I don't know but I feel that they won't succeed this time to kill the resolution. Yes favours have been given with billions of dollars to the turks by the US. And if the turks now refuse to collaborate with the US after this, they will only hurt themselves.

 

Which is a good thing. Now we should replace the turks in the caucasus. The US should start sending us the mega bucks and making us big, rich and powerful. Why not?

 

What the hell are you talking about? Turkey recieves billions for years, nothing new... few years ago their economy was crambelling, toilet paper worthed more than their printed money, the US pressed the world bank to prevent a huge blow on Turkish economy, they took the dispositions to prevent Turkey to cramble. The financing they have recieved is almost matched with the annulation of debts of some African nations. Turkey's posture is artificially maintained by the US, this same posture which hide its true economic situation and that the EU parlementarians who wants Turkey in the EU have been pressed to hide.

 

If Turkey ever kill its friendship with the US, it will bite the hand that was feading her for years.

[gamavor]

Turks can't do shit and that’s why they are angry. Anything they do will harm them more than the other side. They will continue to do what USA wants them to do without objections. Simply no choice.

 

Their fake protests are however in timely use for the administration to squeeze some more money from the Congress.

 

[MosJan]

it's a gave and take situation - turkey invites north-en Iraq - US adapts a resolution

turkey stops - resolution stops - turkey will let new missile system to be installed in turkey - US stops The AG resolution -USA has been using AG to control turkey for long time now

[Takoush]

Turks can't do shit and that’s why they are angry. Anything they do will harm them more than the other side. They will continue to do what USA wants them to do without objections. Simply no choice.

 

Their fake protests are however in timely use for the administration to squeeze some more money from the Congress.

Yes. And that is why I said in my previous post that they will hurt themselves if they do otherwise. Meaning they won't be able to oppose the U.S.

 

My second sentence was a wishful thinking on my part.

 

 

[MosJan]

CNN- AP: Private NTV television reports that Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United States over the Armenian genocide bill.

[AVO]

Its the number #1 story on google news

 

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en-US

Edited October 11, 2007 by Avo47

[MosJan]

A protester shouts slogans against the U.S. during a demonstration in Istanbul Thursday. (Osman Orsal/Reuters)

Turkey assails U.S. vote on genocide