Key Dems Pull Support For Genocide Bill

House Bill To Condemn Armenian Genocide In Jeopardy

(AP)  A House vote to label the century-old deaths of Armenians as genocide was in jeopardy Tuesday after several Democrats withdrew their support and sounded alarms it could cripple U.S. relations with Turkey.

The loss of support is a major setback to Pelosi and other Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, who have fiercely defended the resolution to Republicans and the Bush administration as a moral imperative in condemning the World War I-era killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters Tuesday that the plan remained to vote on the measure before Congress adjourns by the end of the year.

But, he added, “there are a number of people who are revisiting their own positions and we'll have to determine where everyone is,” he said.

The most notable Democratic challenge mounted this week came from Rep. John Murtha, an anti-war ally of Pelosi, D-Calif., and chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Murtha fought against a similar measure 20 years ago.

“From my discussions with our military commanders and foreign policy experts, I believe that this resolution could harm our relations with Turkey and therefore our strategic interests in the region,” Murtha, D-Pa., said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

Also this week, at least six Democrats withdrew their sponsorship of the bill and two other Democrats, Reps. Alcee Hastings of Florida and John Tanner of Tennessee, asked Pelosi to forgo the vote.

Hastings, who has voted against combat funding for Iraq, and Tanner, a member of a conservative Democratic coalition known as the Blue Dogs, said they feared backlash from Turkey would cut off U.S. access to a critical air base.

“More than half of the cargo flown into Iraq and Afghanistan comes through Incirlik Air Base and this base would be a key component of any plans for redeployment of our troops in the future,” the lawmakers wrote.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Tex., sent Pelosi a similar letter last week.

In response to last week's approval of the resolution by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Washington back to Ankara for consultations and asked the Bush administration to stop the resolution from passing in a final floor vote.

Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying that the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

At the Pentagon, Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, operations chief for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked whether the U.S. military was considering providing assistance to Turkey in the event that it went after the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq.

“It would be inappropriate for me from this standpoint to say we are ruling out or ruling in specific military options,” Ham said, adding that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and other commanders are watching the situation closely.

“I don't know specifically what they are planning to do if this matter continues to evolve,” Ham said.

He also said that because there is only one principal overland route from Turkey into northern Iraq for transporting military supplies, a Turkish land offensive southward would have “a significant effect” on the U.S. military's ability to resupply its forces in northern Iraq.

[cfin5]

Thank you Mr. Murtha for doing your part in being an American first before democratic party politics. I would really like to see a lot more republicans stepping up to the plate like him and governing your own party with constitutional integrity. It''s simply what Americans are supposed to do.

[jerr11]

Pelosi and company should work on the real agenda of the day aqnd impeach the president instead of drafting useless bills that don''t mean a thing to anyone.

Get real, Nancy, where''s the beef?

Bring the troops home and make the president accountable for his crimes against the country!!

[cooljcrg]

There are few things I can agree on with Mr. Murtha but what he just did is one of them. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for the troops in Iraq that he''s helping protect...

How the democratic leadership got into this ill advised "pickle" is beyond me... Could someone step up and explain it to me, please...

cool JC

[jerr11]

"moral imperative in condemning the World War I-era killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks."


Moral imperative?

Who cares about some obscure event that happened 100 years ago!!!

The biggest moral imperative right now is the neocon war in Iraq.

4000 dead just so that Bush''s cronies can cash in on the no-bid contracts.

This democratic congress is the biggest bunch of losers in the country!!

How much are the neocons paying you to keep the war going, Ms. Pelosi??

[likeitis5050]

Pelosi''s days are numbered in her legend-in-her-own-mind, self-destructive rein in politics. She is a ruthless, self-centered witch whose sole purpose is to agitate and aggravate to the point of irreparable separation. The pasted-on smile is not fooling anyone. She is simply there to keep the possibility of compromise or unification from even coming close to happening. What rock did she crawl out from under, anyway? What kind of American works to stop the delivery of essential supplies to troops serving in a foreign country? No one is disputing terrible, horrible things were done to Armenians by the (Islamic) Ottoman Turks 90 years ago. It was genocide, but for Pelosi to make this an issue at a time when support from Turkey is so crucial to our troops in Afghanistan borders on treason. She needs to be expelled from any key role in the House. Disgusting. But we still have some Democrats who feel compelled to stand up for America. That is beautiful.

[staff2--2008]

we condemn Iran for dismissing the ''murder'' of 6 million Jews during WW II as a myth...but we do not stand up and condemn the Turks for the slaughter of a million Armenians...we''re in the wrong business of being the keepers of a moral compass...are we just BSing ourselves?

[cooljcrg]

Maybe we should offer the Turks a compromise... We pass a resolution to call their action a genocide ane they pass a resolution calling our handling of American Indians a genocide too. Deal ???

[stillsumhope]

Aw too bad Blinky Pelosi, looks like this little ploy to hurt our troops in Iraq just isn''t going to fly. What happened? Your little poodle Murtha got a little feisty and nipped at you? Bad dog Johnny!!

[cfin5]

cooljcrg,.....That''s exactly the very first thing that popped into my mind when I was reading this article the other day was the "Trail of Tears". I hate knowing our country did those things!

[likeitis5050]

GladImNotOJ I happen to support the Democrats you jacka..s..s...try reading. I can''t stand Bush or Pelosi. Get off your self-righteous high horse and actually comprehend once in awhile. Whether one supports the war or not has nothing to do with wanting support for the troops to continue. God...people like you are ilk.

[tnt1954]

it''s too late now, it''s done. justfiable genocide
of iraq by u.s.a. and the justfiable genocides
of world war one, world war two, the spanish american war, the wars on the indians, the american revolution
against britain which caused the genocide in
france, the french revolution, then indirectly
the communist revolution and the industrial revolution and the reagan revolution and the
genocides at chernobyl and indirectly the genocides
of the holcaust, and laissez-faire capitalistic
communism. all justifiable genocides. but our
country is holier than those. we''re far superior.
in what way? armaments and wmd''s. foooorrrrrwwwaaarrrdd ho! onward christian
soldiers, marching as to war. thy billy graham
crackers be with thee. jimmy crack corn and they
don''t care. takes hair. or madness.

[likeitis5050]

You project onto others the evil that is within yourself.)

Posted by GladImNotOJ

Bwhahahaaa!!! Must suck to suck at psycho-analysis...helps to have finished the 3rd grade. %u201CProjecting%u2019%u2026.great psycho-babble from the 80s%u2026.bwhahahahaaa! What a clown!

Don''t bother spewing any more of your ''wanna be'' babble...I''m moving on.

[cooljcrg]

GladImNotOJ... Sounds like you''re ready to become a suicide bomber... I doubt you can kill anyone other than yourself... So go ahead and make our day...

[ioweign]

we condemn Iran for dismissing the ''''murder'''' of 6 million Jews during WW II as a myth...but we do not stand up and condemn the Turks for the slaughter of a million Armenians...we''''re in the wrong business of being the keepers of a moral compass...are we just BSing ourselves?

Posted by lganso at 10:16 PM : Oct 16, 2007

It is not like we are the first one to recognize the murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Although there has been much academic recognition of the Armenian Genocide, this has not always been followed by governments and media. Many governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Georgia, do not officially use the word genocide to describe these events. Although there is no federal recognition of the Armenian Genocide, 40 of the 50 U.S. states recognize the events of 1915 to 1917 as genocide.

In recent years, parliaments of several countries, including France and Switzerland, have formally recognized the event as genocide. Turkish entry talks with the European Union were met with a number of calls to consider the event as genocide, though it never became a precondition.

Countries officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide include:

* Argentina
* Armenia
* Austria
* Belgium
* Canada
* Chile
* Cyprus
* France
* Greece
* Italy
* Lebanon
* Lithuania
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Russia
* Slovakia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Uruguay
* Vatican City
* Venezuela

Wikipedia

[stillsumhope]

So GladImNotOJ, guess any way we lose the war is justifiable to you, right in line with devilcrat playbook. BTW, yeah I got mine, and now I gotta get some sleep so I can go to my job, work hard and make America great. I''m sure you''re about to light up another joint, comb out your ponytail and stay up all night trashing repugs... Well have at scumbag!

[ioweign]

Nancy Pelosi & Feminine Hygiene

First I am a huge fan of this woman, I have several posters of her in my bedroom located in my mothers basement where I live. I am also working on a fully opposable and anatomically correct life size doll of her.

As a typical Nancy Pelosi supporter I am also concerned about her health and well being.

Awhile back I attended a meet and greet in San Francisco to which she attended. Now I am a very perceptive person and I happened to notice when she came near me that there was a powerful odor present.

You know when you walk into an office and you can tell the person in there just f a r t e d, but you both pretend that nothing happened, it was like that.

Only this was no f a r t, it was an odor that I think all women fear.


Yes she smelled of unwashed v a g i n a. I also noticed that she had a foot odor problem, like she had stale corn chips in her shoes.

I also figured that at her age maybe there was some bio-chemical/hormonal imbalance causing her vaginal juices to excrete an ultra-powerful odor in order to attract other democrats or possibly a mis-firing proto-human gene that has laid dormant in mankind for thousands of years that somehow switched back on and is being utilized as a defense mechanism not unlike a skunk to repel republicans, I just don''''''''t know.


Posted by darkmeat4 at 10:57 PM : Oct 16, 2007


I am surprised you haven''t figured this out !

She is Aryan !!

[brianbwb-2009]

So once again, a mysterious decision by legislators to suddenly change their minds, to continue to ignore history, and to recognize that it is about to repeat itself.

Recognizing the propensity of a group to engage in genocide based on past events, is only wisdom that might prevent it from happening again.

Turkey is beginning a slaughter of the northern Iraqi Kurds, the people Bush and his cronies were wringing their hands over Saddam gassing, conveniently forgetting that Saddam got the gas from the CIA.

Of course recognizing the corrupt nature of the politicians, and their buying and selling versions of history has done little to stop it, perhaps some jail time for bribery or extortion, not to forget treason and conspiracy, etc., in order to make a few examples, might be apropos...

[kansas1946]

Well, the Democrats are starting to crumble, of course. They talk big, but when push comes to shove, they are afraid of doing what is right because, heaven forbid, they might lose a vote, or might get some flack later about being stupid. Like the ones did that voted to give Bush the authority to go to war, and now regret it. Politicians are basically cowards. If something is right, it is right. If it is wrong, it is wrong. If it was right before to support this bill, then it is right now. If it was wrong then, then why did they support it. If the Turks can''t take some criticism about something that happened a century ago, then they need to forget being a part of the real world.

[brianbwb-2009]

"It is not like we are the first one to recognize the murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide." Posted by IOWEIGN

Nor are we able to recognize the genocide of the Native American peoples, whose number is uncounted, but that even the most conservative estimates would make Hitler look like a rank amateur.

It is historically proven fact, the Americans throughout their history have used genocide, most believe it to be a valid tool of political manipulation, and will not recognize something they also do as evil. This is the reason behind refusal to call genocide a crime, those refusing to do it are the ones committing or supporting it.

[mitywhity]

That was rich! Murtha pretending to be sensitive to how we are perceived and what effects it could have on our military. Hell, he hasn''t cared up until now and he wouldn''t have at this time if it weren''t for good old talk radio shining the light on the Dumb-old-crats little plan to SABOTAGE our troops supply lines! Treasonous liberal pawns!

[ringading3]

Again the Democrats waste the time of the Government and endanger the troops! Enough of these traitors.

[agnim]

It always amazes at how those lost leaders in the Congress can ''kick against the prick'' to attack ancient genocide, etc abroad (Japanese, Germans, Turks.
Yet the Comical Congress have never taken resolutions to CLEAN THEIR OWN HOUSE AT HOME.

US has genocide Native Americans and KIDNAPPED, ENSLAVED & REPRESSED African people in America for 500 years. Yet never one resolution of regret and reparation!

Maybe the terrible Turks will cause those numskulls to wake da **** up!

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by ringAding3
Posted by MityWhity

Here are a couple of questions that both of you so far have not answered; How it it that lying to cause a war, and continuing it only on the basis of known lies is not treason, and wouldn''t the best way to protect the troops, as you say you want to do, be to bring them home out of harm''s way, seeing that there is no real reason for them to be there in the first place?

I see many posters here who don''t recognize that the US was wrong to invade, and wrong to continue to occupy, so it is only logical that the Turkish genocide of Armenians is no big deal to them, as they do it also.

[smirk5]

MityWhity,
Where are you stationed?

[booray787]

A few facts in the face of hysteria.
1.It was a different government, different kind of government, that was involved a hundred years ago in the deaths. Why is it "the right time" now?
2. The Turkish air bases will be critical to any "Democrat" inspired withdrawal. Without them we will be in Iraq years longer, no matter who the next president is.
3. Voting on this measure and passing it in congress will surely result in more deaths in Iraq, both American and Iraqi.
4. For those who constantly scream lies [whenever talking about Republicans], please note...if you believe it, it is not a lie, you''re just stupid. And please note...our friends and enemies in Europe also believed the same thing. Many Democrats did. Most of the Clinton Administration did.
4. Hate looks bad on Democrats too.

[randalds]

MityWhity,
Where are you stationed?

Posted by Smirk5 at 12:07 AM : Oct 17, 2007

He''s stationed in front of his computer. Like most Bush supporters he''s a gutless yellow-bellied coward who is all mouth........just like Bush.....

[edward1975-2009]

First let''s get the termonolgy correct. It wasn''t genocide, it is a massacre. But either way I believe our elected officials have more to worry about then this mute issue. And why people are surprised that the Dumocrats are crumbling is beyond me. When has a politician recently from either party, had the stones to stand for anything. They flip-flop quicker than friends of O.J.

[randalds]

1.It was a different government, different kind of government, that was involved a hundred years ago in the deaths. Why is it "the right time" now?
2. The Turkish air bases will be critical to any "Democrat" inspired withdrawal. Without them we will be in Iraq years longer, no matter who the next president is.
3. Voting on this measure and passing it in congress will surely result in more deaths in Iraq, both American and Iraqi.
4. For those who constantly scream lies [whenever talking about Republicans], please note...if you believe it, it is not a lie, you''''re just stupid. And please note...our friends and enemies in Europe also believed the same thing. Many Democrats did. Most of the Clinton Administration did.
4. Hate looks bad on Democrats too.

Posted by booray787 at 12:08 AM : Oct 17, 2007

1. So was Nazi Germany, but we condemn them too. Except for members of the Bush administration who look to them for political inspiration.
2. BS. We ca easily withdraw our troops through our bases in Saudi Arabia and to our troop transport ships that can be on station within 2 to 3 weeks. The logistics of leaving are complicated, but easy.
3. BS scare tactic. Our troops are dying at the rate they''re dying at (and wouldn''t be dying at all if not for the godawful stupid idiocy of invading Iraq in the first place) and this declaration will have zero affect on it. This is cr*ap by the right.
4a and b. Huh?

[sgtrds]

Oh and by the way...it''s "boo rah!"...not boo ray.........

[ducdebrabant]

So we are to be pushed around by Turkey? In order to soothe China, Bush met the Dalai Lama in the residence part of the White House, not any of the state rooms. Is this the time when America becomes France? I well remember when Gaddafi had the nerve to place terrorists wanted for crimes in Germany in a delegation to France. The French, fearful of offending Gaddafi, ignored their treaty obligations to turn over the men to Germany for trial, and put them on a plane back to Tripoli. What will now happen when Japan, which is eliminating all self blame for any WWII events from its textbooks, demands as the price of its cooperation that the U.S. deny -- as Japan does -- that the Nanking Massacre ever took place? When this country can no longer speak the truth, what are we? What have we become?

[bbrundj]

Pelosi must see this as a punishment for our war in Iraq. It happened, but a hundred years ago. It was bad, but things can change (except for wars). We sure don''t need to incense the world any further. Or can we help it, at all?

[searingtruth]

"Our representatives had become politicians, precluding all hope of justice."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[missingamerica]

You know, I bet the occurrences that Pelosi et al are so adamant about addressing ex post facto also started with name calling.

And what else is labeling some group of people who weren''t even alive at the time "genocidal killers" other than name calling?

Do you see Pelosi et al seriously attempting to do anything about the barbaric behavior that we commit - like rendition and torture - or wars on whims, for instance?

No.

Vote the children out of Congress; the measure of an adult is not the insults they hurl but the actions they take in reaction to the lessons of history.

[cbs_oliver]

Is there anybody who can''t push a blue dog Democrat to vote with the Republicans for the wrong thing.

Totally without spine when pushed by the right wing!

[cbs_oliver]

So now we know. Blue Dog Dems will support genocide against Christians as well as Muslims if the President asks them to - so long as he claims it is the prudent thing to do.

[jowand]

I can understand where Turkey is coming from. As far as I am concerned Bush is commiting genocide rigth now in Iraq lest vote on that first!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by jerryomara at 04:03 AM : Oct 17, 2007

Make it up don''t let the facts get in the way.

[jowand]

1. So was Nazi Germany, but we condemn them too. Except for members of the Bush administration who look to them for political inspiration.
randalDS

You''re a liar

[jowand]

This is a Democrat bill by Pelosi and friends, they are invested in defeat. Trying to force a pullout or defeat for our military through the back door. Siding with the enemy, Islamists best and most prized propoganda tool.

[smirk5]

jowand,
Where are you stationed?

[smirk5]

Where are you fighting the Islamists Jowand? Afghanistan or Iraq?

[rmsdm4]

Ever since Pelosi announced this bill, oil prises have gone up $10 a barrel. That means the dems just made oil companies and bush billions. I thought they were going to washington to stop all this?

[smirk5]

rmsdm4,

How much is oil up since Bush took office? He said he''d jawbone those OPEC nations to open their spigots to keep the price down. How''s that working?
""What I think the president ought to do is, he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, `We expect you to open your spigots! OPEC has gotten its supply act together and its driving the price, like it did in the past. And the president must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price."
Bush Jr.

[smirk5]

Jowand is evidently taking too much enemy fire in some video game right now to answer the question of where he''s stationed.

[gunownerdan]

What makes genocide possible?
Gun control.
Defenseless civilians are much easier to exterminate!

"One man with a gun can control 100 without one. Make mass searches and hold executions for found arms."
- Lenin

"Ideas are more dangerous than guns. We wouldn%u2019t let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?"
- Joseph Stalin

"Every Communist must grasp the truth, Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our Principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party."
- Mao Zedong

"On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results."
- Benito Mussolini

"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing."
- Adolf Hitler

[jowand]

The Democrats who vote against this genocide bill are in reality backing bush and HIS war once again. They have no b-a-l-l-s. I wish we Americans could come up with some decent LEADERS for a change and not a bunch of followers being lead by a moron. No doubt Turkey committed genocide. It''''s time they admit it. If it puts a stop to our bases being in Turkey, that''''s even better!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by leftyintexas at 07:38 AM : Oct 17, 2007

Democrats who vote for this bill are backstabbing our military while engaged with an enemy, but whats new.

[jowand]

Jowand is evidently taking too much enemy fire in some video game right now to answer the question of where he''''s stationed.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Smirk5 at 06:56 AM : Oct 17, 2007

Jowand has other things to do, don''t play video games. Right now I''m about 18 inches from my computer screen reading your stupid posts.

[ioweign]

Democrats who vote for this bill are backstabbing our military while engaged with an enemy, but whats new.

Posted by jowand at 07:42 AM : Oct 17, 2007

40 of 50 United States states have already voted to recognize this as Genocide prior to Iraq and Afghanistan. You are once again leaping before you look !

It is not like we are the first one to recognize the murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Although there has been much academic recognition of the Armenian Genocide, this has not always been followed by governments and media. Many governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Georgia, do not officially use the word genocide to describe these events. Although there is no federal recognition of the Armenian Genocide, 40 of the 50 U.S. states recognize the events of 1915 to 1917 as genocide.

In recent years, parliaments of several countries, including France and Switzerland, have formally recognized the event as genocide. Turkish entry talks with the European Union were met with a number of calls to consider the event as genocide, though it never became a precondition.

Countries officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide include:

* Argentina
* Armenia
* Austria
* Belgium
* Canada
* Chile
* Cyprus
* France
* Greece
* Italy
* Lebanon
* Lithuania
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Russia
* Slovakia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Uruguay
* Vatican City
* Venezuela

Wikipedia

[jowand]

Switzerland
* Uruguay
* Vatican City
* Venezuela

Wikipedia


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by IOWEIGN at 08:00 AM : Oct 17, 2007

Timing is everything, even Jack Murtha won''t support it because it''s bad timing, it''s DOA. Pelosi has no B**ls if you haven''t figured this out already, she sure is stupid. Another Jimmy Carter type decision when he stuck it to the Shah, look what happened after that plitical gem.
You''re probably the kind of person who would pull a knife on someone who is holding an Uzzi on you right?

[jowand]

Countries officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide include:

* Argentina
* Armenia
* Austria
* Belgium
* Canada
* Chile
* Cyprus
* France
* Greece
* Italy
* Lebanon
* Lithuania
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Russia
* Slovakia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Uruguay
* Vatican City
* Venezuela

Wikipedia


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by IOWEIGN at 08:00 AM : Oct 17, 2007

Not one so called Muslim country on your list is there???????

[jowand]

from Turkey would cut off U.S. access to a critical air base."

Bull s h i t. We give Turkey millions in military aid, including spare parts for all those F-16''''s we sold them. Turkey isn''''t going to cut off c r a p. We are letting a foreign government dictate what our Congress does and all the righties are willing to let them. And the coward democrats are caving in to Bush, as usual.



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Posted by rafterman1 at 08:06 AM : Oct 17, 2007

Your blinded by your politics, it''s a dead duck face it. Pelosi looks like an idiot again.