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VOTE ON ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE' RESOLUTION PUT OFF
Deirdre Walsh CNN
CNN International
Oct 26 2007
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Supporters of a congressional resolution that would
have declared the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians "genocide" dropped
their call for a vote on the measure Thursday. The resolution spurred
fierce criticism from NATO ally Turkey, where officials acknowledge
the killings of Armenians during World War I but vehemently object
to the designation "genocide." Turkish leaders threatened to curtail
U.S. access to bases vital to supporting the more than 160,000 American
troops in Iraq if the measure passed. The Bush administration, which
is trying to persuade Turkey not to launch cross-border raids against
Kurdish rebels in Iraq, had lobbied aggressively against the resolution
as well. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a House committee
Thursday that the resolution's consequences on the war in Iraq would
be "quite dire." The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the
resolution earlier this month. But Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the No. 3
Democrat in the House of Representatives, conceded last week that
"the votes are not there" for the resolution to clear the full House.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, its major sponsors wrote
that the measure would pass "if the timing is more favorable."
Pelosi, D-California, had promised to schedule a floor vote if the
resolution made it out of committee, but told reporters Thursday that
she accepted the sponsors' request to set the matter aside. Though
the sponsors, led by California Democrat Adam Schiff, suggested the
measure could be brought back later this year, a senior Democratic
leadership aide said the issue is off the table indefinitely. "This is
not going to be taken up until next year at the earliest," the aide
said. Historians estimate about 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
the Ottoman Empire -- the predecessor of modern Turkey -- during World
War I. But Turkey, now a secular and democratic Muslim nation, and
masses of its people reject the term genocide, viewing the deaths as
part of a war that claimed lives among all peoples in the region. House
Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the handling of the issue
raises questions about the judgment of Democratic leaders -- "a pattern
that is undermining our national security." "Given Turkey's importance
in the war on terror, the role it plays in the care of our troops
on the ground, and their close alliance with us in NATO, attempting
to force a vote on this resolution in the first place was just plain
reckless," Boehner said in a written statement after the news emerged.
Deirdre Walsh CNN
CNN International
Oct 26 2007
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Supporters of a congressional resolution that would
have declared the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians "genocide" dropped
their call for a vote on the measure Thursday. The resolution spurred
fierce criticism from NATO ally Turkey, where officials acknowledge
the killings of Armenians during World War I but vehemently object
to the designation "genocide." Turkish leaders threatened to curtail
U.S. access to bases vital to supporting the more than 160,000 American
troops in Iraq if the measure passed. The Bush administration, which
is trying to persuade Turkey not to launch cross-border raids against
Kurdish rebels in Iraq, had lobbied aggressively against the resolution
as well. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a House committee
Thursday that the resolution's consequences on the war in Iraq would
be "quite dire." The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the
resolution earlier this month. But Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the No. 3
Democrat in the House of Representatives, conceded last week that
"the votes are not there" for the resolution to clear the full House.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, its major sponsors wrote
that the measure would pass "if the timing is more favorable."
Pelosi, D-California, had promised to schedule a floor vote if the
resolution made it out of committee, but told reporters Thursday that
she accepted the sponsors' request to set the matter aside. Though
the sponsors, led by California Democrat Adam Schiff, suggested the
measure could be brought back later this year, a senior Democratic
leadership aide said the issue is off the table indefinitely. "This is
not going to be taken up until next year at the earliest," the aide
said. Historians estimate about 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
the Ottoman Empire -- the predecessor of modern Turkey -- during World
War I. But Turkey, now a secular and democratic Muslim nation, and
masses of its people reject the term genocide, viewing the deaths as
part of a war that claimed lives among all peoples in the region. House
Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the handling of the issue
raises questions about the judgment of Democratic leaders -- "a pattern
that is undermining our national security." "Given Turkey's importance
in the war on terror, the role it plays in the care of our troops
on the ground, and their close alliance with us in NATO, attempting
to force a vote on this resolution in the first place was just plain
reckless," Boehner said in a written statement after the news emerged.