As Bill Maher put it, the voters of America gave the Democrats control of Congress so they could stand up to the Ottoman Empire. Right?
So, just what is Nancy Pelosi along with the members of the House of Rep. doing? Why is it so essential to condemn the killing of Armenians by the Turks in 1915, now?
Read the thorough account in Wikipedia (click)
With Turkish bases for U.S. troops vital to the Iraq war, isn't this act of Congress absurd and counter-productive to our interests? Isn't this just a political concession by California Democrats to the Armenian lobby?
Though the answer may well be "yes" to those questions, the end result may turn out to be an acknowledging of an atrocity that is long overdue. U.S. involvement and action with regard to Armenia and its struggles for independence do go back to Woodrow Wilson. Over twenty nations have condemned the massacre of Armenians as genocide, though the Turks themselves deny it. The world would do well to condemn genocide wherever and whenever it has occurred. As Pelosi remarked, there is no "right time"-- and efforts in the past have been frustrated by the same arguments. That we have not condemned this atrocity in the past is no reason not to do so now. Still, if we are to condemn this genocide, we should be careful to condemn them all, perhaps including China and Tibet, not to mention the U.S. slaughter of Native Americans.
The issue is complex. If nothing else, it warrants awareness and serious thought by all of us.
Jameson
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