When In Doubt, Starve Them Out

When I read an article by the AP regarding the legislation from Congress to denounce the Armenian Genocide during World War One, the little 'conspiracy theory' light went on in the back of my mind. For the mostly Democrat-controlled Congress to suddenly pass legislation of this kind begs the question of why now? Why now, when Turkey is a much needed ally in the war in Iraq, should Congress suddenly feel compelled to denounce the actions of the Turkish government almost a century ago? Nobody alive today was involved in that agreeably horrific activity. Turkey doesn't appear to have a currently policy aimed at Armenian extermination.

So why would the Democrats use our tax dollars to draft such legislation? Why the Armenian genocide? Why not chastise the government of German for Hitler's actions? After all, there are still people alive today that were involved in the Nazi party. And why stop there. Let's attack the South for slavery, attack Spain for the Aztecs and Inca of the Americas, attack Rome for destroying the Celtic culture of southern Europe almost two thousand years ago.

Of course, this would be absurd. The Democrats wouldn't gain nothing besides a headache from it. However, insulting the government of Turkey would have a nice result. As a long-standing supporter of the US military in our efforts in Iraq, I believe the Dems (and some Republicans) have found a golden goose among the ugly ducks. After repeatedly failing to draw the Iraq war to a close by cutting funding for the war, this is their chance to do some damage without overtly being anti-war. In fact, to many they sound down-right angelic: they order a decent helping of strong marks for human rights, and get a thorn in Bush's side on the house. What could be better?

The thought of Turkey disallowing American supply routes from and over their territory must have the Dems salivating. While it may not completely threaten the war, it offers that much more aggravation to the Bush Administration. Perhaps it will be the straw that breaks Bush's back. Who knows?

Of course, the Dems will not come out and say this is the case. Their leading candidates for 2008 have all declared they will not withdraw the troops if they are elected. And why should they? That would count as a loss on their clock. If anything, let the Iraq war crumble while Bush is in his lame-duck presidency, then swoop in to be the ones to pat the American public on the back and say "well, we tried our best but the leadership just wasn't up to snuff."

What good does it do the American public to officially state what it already knows to be true? It doesn't take an act of Congress to acknowledge atrocities and educate our children about the past. Congress needs to leave well enough alone.

Nancy Pelosi, Arbiter of History

Gee! Who says that Nancy Pelosi can't get anything done? She's not attacking one of the burning issues of the 21st century, whether on not the Turks commmitted genocide against ethnic Armenians.

A proposed House resolution that would label as "genocide" the deaths of Armenians more than 90 years ago during the Ottoman Empire has won the support of a majority of House members, unleashing a lobbying blitz by the Bush administration and other opponents who say it would greatly harm relations with Turkey, a key ally in the Iraq war.

All eight living former secretaries of state have signed a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warning that the nonbinding resolution "would endanger our national security interests." Three former defense secretaries, in their own letter, said Turkey probably would cut off U.S. access to a critical air base. The government of Turkey is spending more than $300,000 a month on communications specialists and high-powered lobbyists, including former congressman Bob Livingston, to defeat the initiative.

Pelosi, whose congressional district has a large Armenian population, has brushed aside such concerns and said she supports bringing the resolution, for the first time, to a full vote in the House, where more than half of the members have signed on as co-sponsors. The House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has passed such a resolution before, is set to vote on it today.

House Resolution 106, officially the Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide, has been pushed doggedly by a congressman whose Southern California district contains the largest concentration of Armenian Americans in the country. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D) won his seat in 2000 after his Republican predecessor was sandbagged when then-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert reneged on a pledge and pulled the bill from the floor after a last-minute plea from President Bill Clinton.

I had a friend once who was quite passionate about this, until he discovered that he wasn't actually Armenian after all - he was Lithuanian.