COMMENTARY: ARMENIANS
By Lee Cullum, KERA Commentator
PBS
Oct 18 2007
This time President Bush is making an important point. A Congressional
resolution passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee condemning the
genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks that began in 1915 is ill
timed and quite possibly damaging to our interests in Iraq. There is
no question that the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the crumbling
Ottoman Empire during World War I was genocide. The Turkish government
would save itself and us a lot of trouble if it would simply say so,
and make amends that are appropriate and necessary. But that seems
unlikely for reasons both emotional and immoral.
Nonetheless, the unhappy facts are that we are making heavy use of
an air base in southeastern Turkey to supply our troops in Iraq,
and fuel trucks for our forces are routed into Kurdish territory
across the southern border. Heavily armored trucks are flown over the
airspace of Turkey, and, according to Defense Secretary Bob Gates,
it all adds up to 70 percent of American military cargo sent to Iraq.
We could cope eventually with the disruptions threatened by the
government in Ankara. According to one press report, supplies could
be moved through Jordan, Kuwait or the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr in the
northern Persian Gulf, and the armored trucks could avoid Turkish
airspace, but why go through this when we already have trouble enough
in in the ancient land of Mesopotamia?
Also, this resolution could jeopardize what influence we have over
Prime Minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan when we need him to restrain
his army from going into northern Iraq to track down Kurds who’ve
been launching attacks back in Turkey. Already Erdogan’s military
has fired artillery shells across the border into Kurdistan. It’s
tempting to tell Turkish troops to come on in and please keep going
all the way to Baghdad and relieve American forces, still struggling
there to hold the fort. But, of course, that’s a fantasy and highly
unrealistic. I doubt the Turks want this assignment anyway. Nobody
else does. And we certainly couldn’t tolerate their wreaking havoc
among the Kurds, the only promising group in Iraq.
Some will note that we wouldn’t be in this bind with Ankara if we
weren’t bogged down in a war with no end. No doubt that’s true. But
we are bogged down, and Turkey is critical ally. Supporters of the
resolution argue that it is important to keep this terrible history
vivid in the human mind, lest it happen again.
Certainly that’s true. President Bush has expressed his dismay at
the ghastly massacre of Armenians. Someday it may be possible to call
this genocide by its rightful name. Someday, the Turkish people may
even be able to acknowledge a past that is far from pretty.
Fortunately, the resolution is beginning to falter in the House after
heavy lobbying by former U.S. congressmen working for Turkey. That’s
good. It’s time, now, for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to consult the wisdom
of John Milton. They also serve who only stand and wait.
Lee Cullum is host of the monthly series C.E.O. on KERA 13.
If you have opinions or rebuttals about this commentary, call (214)
740-9338 or email us.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
