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BUSH SAYS RESOLUTION WOULD HARM U.S.-TURKEY RELATIONS (UPDATE1)
By Hans Nichols and Laura Litvan
Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ne ws?pid=20601087&sid=alpgWnhWBw6E&refer=hom e
Oct 10 2007
Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said a congressional
resolution calling for the killings of Armenians in Turkey nine
decades ago to be designated as genocide "would do great harm" to a
crucial U.S. alliance.
"We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian people,"
Bush said today on the White House South Lawn. "This resolution is
not the right response to these mass killings."
The measure, being considered today by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, has prompted threats by Turkey to cut off cooperation with
the U.S. Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
and borders Iraq, Syria and Iran. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,
rejecting those warnings, said Democrats will push the measure through
the House before Congress adjourns for the year in the middle of
next month.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice warned earlier today that the resolution threatens U.S. security
interests.
Access to roads and airfields used for resupplying U.S. troops in
Iraq "would be very much put at risk if this resolution passes,"
Gates said outside the White House.
Rice, who appeared with Gates, said the opposition to the resolution
"is not because the U.S. fails to recognize the terrible tragedy
of 1915."
Longstanding Conflict
Turkey denies that a systematic slaughter of Armenians took place,
saying Armenians and Turks alike were killed in ethnic clashes between
1915 and 1923 after Armenian groups sided with Russia in World War I.
Hoyer said today that he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met this
morning with Nabi Sensoy, the Turkish ambassador to the U.S., and
Sensoy reiterated warnings that passage of the resolution could harm
U.S-Turkish relations. Hoyer said Pelosi indicated that the resolution
should be seen as a "blip" that would not have a long-term impact on
an important alliance between the two nations.
Hoyer also said that Bush personally pushed him to drop the matter
on Oct. 7, and that Rice met with him Oct. 3 with the same message.
Hoyer said that he has pressed for years for such a resolution, and
that he always is told that the timing is wrong. He predicted that
the resolution will pass and dismissed concerns about any long-term
impact on U.S.-Turkish relations.
Rejecting Warnings
"I disagree with that," Hoyer said. "I think the majority of the
members disagree with that."
California Democrat Adam Schiff, whose district is 11 percent ethnic
Armenian, according to the Almanac of American Politics, is pushing the
measure. It has 226 of the House's 435 members signed on in support. In
the Senate, the resolution is co-sponsored by 32 of the 100 members,
led by Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin.
It calls on the president to ensure that U.S. foreign policy "reflects
appropriate understanding and sensitivity" related to issues including
documented evidence that the event constituted genocide. Bush
also should "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate
annihilation" of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide in his annual
April message commemorating the killings, according to the resolution.
Passage of the resolution will hurt U.S. efforts to bolster security in
Iraq because Turkey will be less inclined to support its NATO ally,
Egemen Bagis, an adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
told Turkey's CNN Turk news channel.
"This draft resolution will put U.S. soldiers in danger," he said.
"If our ally accuses us of crimes that we did not commit, then we
will start to question the advantages of our cooperation."
Bush last week expressed his opposition to the resolution in a
telephone conversation with the Turkish prime minister.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Hans Nichols and Laura Litvan
Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ne ws?pid=20601087&sid=alpgWnhWBw6E&refer=hom e
Oct 10 2007
Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said a congressional
resolution calling for the killings of Armenians in Turkey nine
decades ago to be designated as genocide "would do great harm" to a
crucial U.S. alliance.
"We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian people,"
Bush said today on the White House South Lawn. "This resolution is
not the right response to these mass killings."
The measure, being considered today by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, has prompted threats by Turkey to cut off cooperation with
the U.S. Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
and borders Iraq, Syria and Iran. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,
rejecting those warnings, said Democrats will push the measure through
the House before Congress adjourns for the year in the middle of
next month.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice warned earlier today that the resolution threatens U.S. security
interests.
Access to roads and airfields used for resupplying U.S. troops in
Iraq "would be very much put at risk if this resolution passes,"
Gates said outside the White House.
Rice, who appeared with Gates, said the opposition to the resolution
"is not because the U.S. fails to recognize the terrible tragedy
of 1915."
Longstanding Conflict
Turkey denies that a systematic slaughter of Armenians took place,
saying Armenians and Turks alike were killed in ethnic clashes between
1915 and 1923 after Armenian groups sided with Russia in World War I.
Hoyer said today that he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met this
morning with Nabi Sensoy, the Turkish ambassador to the U.S., and
Sensoy reiterated warnings that passage of the resolution could harm
U.S-Turkish relations. Hoyer said Pelosi indicated that the resolution
should be seen as a "blip" that would not have a long-term impact on
an important alliance between the two nations.
Hoyer also said that Bush personally pushed him to drop the matter
on Oct. 7, and that Rice met with him Oct. 3 with the same message.
Hoyer said that he has pressed for years for such a resolution, and
that he always is told that the timing is wrong. He predicted that
the resolution will pass and dismissed concerns about any long-term
impact on U.S.-Turkish relations.
Rejecting Warnings
"I disagree with that," Hoyer said. "I think the majority of the
members disagree with that."
California Democrat Adam Schiff, whose district is 11 percent ethnic
Armenian, according to the Almanac of American Politics, is pushing the
measure. It has 226 of the House's 435 members signed on in support. In
the Senate, the resolution is co-sponsored by 32 of the 100 members,
led by Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin.
It calls on the president to ensure that U.S. foreign policy "reflects
appropriate understanding and sensitivity" related to issues including
documented evidence that the event constituted genocide. Bush
also should "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate
annihilation" of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide in his annual
April message commemorating the killings, according to the resolution.
Passage of the resolution will hurt U.S. efforts to bolster security in
Iraq because Turkey will be less inclined to support its NATO ally,
Egemen Bagis, an adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
told Turkey's CNN Turk news channel.
"This draft resolution will put U.S. soldiers in danger," he said.
"If our ally accuses us of crimes that we did not commit, then we
will start to question the advantages of our cooperation."
Bush last week expressed his opposition to the resolution in a
telephone conversation with the Turkish prime minister.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress