A LITTLE TOO LATE
University of North Carolina The Daily Tar Heel, NC
Oct 16 2007
Congress should focus on the present, not the past
By: Editorial Board
Issue date: 10/16/07
Section: Opinion
In a time of tough Turkish-American relations, it does not make sense
to create more tension.
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives potentially could do
just that.
Last week the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a nonbinding
resolution that would officially recognize the Ottoman Turks’
deportation and subsequent deaths of 1.5 million Armenians during
World War I as genocide.
The Bush administration has condemned the resolution as an
inappropriate response, and we agree.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided this resolution was necessary now
because the survivors of this tragedy are elderly and, therefore,
the legislation must be passed now.
The biggest problem with the resolution is that it has no implications
in the present day nor does it change history. The killings began 92
years ago under a government that no longer exists.
We are not denying the importance of governments speaking out against
injustices by applying the term genocide. This issue has definite
modern applications, especially with the genocide in Sudan. But to
reclassify a historical event in such retrospect does no good today.
This legislation literally accomplishes nothing more than inflaming
a close ally of the U.S.
This has caused a serious backlash in Turkey, and in a time of war
such as this, the U.S. needs all the allies it can get, particularly
allies that border Iraq.
Turkey’s cooperation in the Iraq war has been critical to U.S.
operations. Turkish airstrips provide a stopover point for 70 percent
of all air cargo bound for Iraq and 30 percent of the fuel used by
our troops.
Tensions are already close to the boiling point between the U.S. and
Turkey. The Turks believe that Kurdish rebels are using northern
Iraq as a base for launching offensives into the Kurdish regions of
Turkey. The U.S. has urged Turkey not to attack the region.
Congress should not be taking chances in damaging already apprehensive
relations.
Instead, members of Congress should focus on getting more important
legislation, such a comprehensive defense bill, passed.
We are left at a loss as to how this legislation is at all pressing
or important enough to possibly jeopardize relations with one of the
few friendly regimes in the Middle East.
Turkey probably isn’t bluffing, either. Last year it broke military
ties with France after the lower house of its parliament voted to
adopt legislation that would have made the denial of the killings as
genocide a crime.
It would be a shame if the operations in Iraq were significantly
hindered because of a nonbinding resolution commenting on something
that happened 92 years ago.
Our politicians ought to spend more time passing legislation that is
actually pertinent to Americans and leave history to the historians.