Mike Pouraryan
SP Newsflash (3/4/2010): Turkey v. Armenia
The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs just passed a resolution labeling the massacre of 1916 as a genocide. This was despite the urging of Secretary Clinton not to do this. This just led to Turkey recalling its Ambassador in Washington. This is a serious development that does not bode well for the U.S. position in the Middle East.
Turkey is a NATO ally. Turkey is a key route as the US begins to withdraw its troops. Turkey has played a constructive role in maintaining contacts with the Israelis despite the idiotic nature of acts by certain Israeli Government Officials. I can't understand why the Committee did this, except to underscore the dysfunctional nature of Congress and how it is beholden to special interests. I wrote about this in a new feature I launched in SP's sister site, Outsider Views earlier about how to get US Democracy back on track. This will present problems that will take a monumental effort to overcome. I wonder what prompted Congressman Berman to do this except to score political points?
There is no question that what happened to the Armenians in 1916 was horrific. Reading the historical accounts sends shivers down my spine. But if the Armenians and the Turks are working to overcome their differences, why does the US Congress jump into the fray? Why now? They truly need to find more important issues to investigate and think about to insure that the Executive is held to account.
It has not been a good day for US Foreign Policy.
Turkey is a NATO ally. Turkey is a key route as the US begins to withdraw its troops. Turkey has played a constructive role in maintaining contacts with the Israelis despite the idiotic nature of acts by certain Israeli Government Officials. I can't understand why the Committee did this, except to underscore the dysfunctional nature of Congress and how it is beholden to special interests. I wrote about this in a new feature I launched in SP's sister site, Outsider Views earlier about how to get US Democracy back on track. This will present problems that will take a monumental effort to overcome. I wonder what prompted Congressman Berman to do this except to score political points?
There is no question that what happened to the Armenians in 1916 was horrific. Reading the historical accounts sends shivers down my spine. But if the Armenians and the Turks are working to overcome their differences, why does the US Congress jump into the fray? Why now? They truly need to find more important issues to investigate and think about to insure that the Executive is held to account.
It has not been a good day for US Foreign Policy.
