What Genocide?
A proposed House resolution that would label as "genocide" the deaths of Armenians more than 90 years ago during the Ottoman Empire has won the support of a majority of House members, unleashing a lobbying blitz by the Bush administration and other opponents who say it would greatly harm relations with Turkey, a key ally in the Iraq war.
All eight living former secretaries of state have signed a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warning that the nonbinding resolution "would endanger our national security interests." Three former defense secretaries, in their own letter, said Turkey probably would cut off U.S. access to a critical air base. The government of Turkey is spending more than $300,000 a month on communications specialists and high-powered lobbyists, including former congressman Bob Livingston, to defeat the initiative.
I'm all for good diplomatic relations and all, but I must say I find this whole argument a little distasteful. Basically, rather than looking to the historical evidence and making a decision based on it to determine if the killings during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire constituted a genocide. The whole argument seems centered around what this resolution will do to diplomatic relations and military cooperation.
The facts are apparently not so important. The real determining factor seems to be which lobbying groups will be more successful; the Armenian-Americans or the Turks and State Department. (And where does the government of Armenia stand in all this? One would think such a resolution would at least spark some interest from the Armenian population in the area, but I see nothing to indicate they've even been asked for an opinion. Weird.)
One can't help but compare this to the best-known genocide of the 20th Century; that of the Jews in Europe. Denying it is a criminal offense in most of the western world, and relations with Israel are coloured by it, for good or ill. But the facts are there, and making sure it isn't forgotten may possibly some day keep us from allowing such things to keep happening to other peoples at other times.
The facts should be there in the case of the Armenian killings as well, and that should be all that this decision is based on.
