Key Dems Pull Support For Genocide Bill

(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.

[gunownerdan]

If all civilians on earth were given freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to defend themselves, genocide would become a thing of the past.

[flreason]

I understand the desire of Armenian descendants to seek a formal acknowledgement of the atrocities at the end of the Ottoman Empire. But this symbolic gesture will not undo history or cause the Turkish government to revise their accepted history, any more than overwhelming evidence of American government involvement in regime overthrows in Central and South America in collusion with United Fruit will be reflected in American public school history books.

Much as I might like to see historical honesty, there is far more at stake here. The Turkish threats about pursuing conflict with the Kurds is one unintended consequence. Even more damaging could be the consequences for our troops in Iraq. This gesture is a symbolic gesture that may result in the loss of one of the few allies we have in the region. It is, unfortunately, a luxury we cannot afford.

[mocalleo]

Any time you bring up Clinton''s foibles in the 1990''s,
liberals SCREAM "we don''t want to talk about the past"

Now, liberals want to talk about Armenian genocide
that occured over 90 years ago???.

ROTFLMAO

just more liberal hypocrisy...Seig Heil, Hillary !!

[toldyouso21]

Posted by ozilot at 12:19 PM : Oct 17, 2007

You miss the entire point of Nancy and those who join in the "genocide pronouncements" (from whichever country:

They have no intention of stopping the genocide or preventing future genocides--they are the crowd, who stand dumbly and watch a woman get raped or a kid get beat up. They are the people rubbernecking at a highway accident or those who watch a fire, but never stop to help put it out--the goal is always the same--they never actually physically aid in stopping genocide--they just want to talk about it and comment on it later on. In the case of the holocaust or any other tragedy--you will not find that those countries sooooo against genocide, ever fought the evil doers or even loudly denounced them during the killing--their job is to observe--rubberneck the tragedy then later--when the coast is clear talk about how horrible and evil it all was--here is a greater evil:

Letting it go on then--and letting new ones happen now. NO doubt, Pelosi and others have plans to revisit the Iraq debacle in about 30 years and give it a name...they will conveniently not answer why they did nothing or not much at the time. To stop genocide--why NOT pull funds? There should be a special crime for not stopping it--as well as being the perps--because it takes BOTH sets of people for genocide to occur--the evil doers and the silent majority that just stands around and watches.

[toldyouso21]

%u201CFrom 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,%u201D Murtha, D-Pa., said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday."

The problem with moral pronouncements or denouncements like declarations of Genocide--is that they must always be done in defiance of what such a pronouncement might mean in the present. In other words--to tell the truth and declare a spade, a spade--one must do it --even if it means that the spade can no longer be of use. It is a sad, but true fact that morals, decency and honor are often sacrificed on the bed of "national interest" or "strategic interests" That is what happens when we whorrrre our beliefs and country--we sell out--to the highest bidder--like every great prostitute does. Even our sense of moral outrage is for sale--we''d suck the d1ck of Hitler--if he was in power anywhere and we wanted a base on his turf--that is the way of the US now--anybody''s whorrrre--for a price. And willing to fvck over anyone else--for a price. The key is--always for a price--we are not the greatest capitalistic whorrres in the world for nothing. We always get paid.

[signof4]

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

Pretty sad. I''m sure there are almost a million abortions performed on AMERICANS every year, but these dems need to go back a 100 years to another part of the world and make a stand for life.

Hypocrites all. Glad they managed to solve all of OUR problems. 11% and falling!

[mocalleo]

Any time you bring up Clinton''s foibles in the 1990''s,
liberals SCREAM "we don''t want to talk about the past"

Now, liberals want to talk about Armenian genocide
that occured over 90 years ago???.

ROTFLMAO

just more liberal hypocrisy

[radiob-2009]

I have been reading all your posts and as usual just make my day. I love to laugh and you post some great ones Thanks


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Posted by starleo146


Somebody opened some "Wild Turkey" and "ruffled some feathers" .

[tcoleman12]

Hey, isn''t Quagmire the neighbor on Family Guy? As for these Dems, who are they kidding? The damage is done.
They want to try to come out now like they are thoughtful and understand the region? What next to undermine the military?

[gunownerdan]

Defenseless civilians are easy to exterminate.
www.a-human-right.com