US HOUSE TO DROP GENOCIDE BILL
PRESS TV, Iran
Oct 18 2007
Democrats in the US House of Representatives have dropped support
for the resolution calling the massacre of Armenians as genocide.
In an apparent retreat from their initial stance, influential Democrat
John Murtha said the US was in no position to be thinking of moral
values at such a crucial time because it is already suffering from
a lack of credibility across the world.
House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said on Wednesday the prospects of a
vote on Armenian genocide were uncertain, after several members pulled
their support amid fears it would cripple US relations with Turkey.
In a White House news conference Bush warned lawmakers against further
inflaming US relations with Turkey.
Turkey’s military chief General Yasar Buyukanit has warned the United
States that the alliance between the two nations will be at risk if the
House of Representatives approves the measure. The resolution’s passage
could also prompt Turkey to scale back its assistance in the Iraq war.
Earlier this week, Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, had sharply
denounced the resolution adopted by the US House panel and called it
an unacceptable move by some American politicians who ignore common
sense and sacrifice greater issues to petty games.