All right, since I've been riding the Turkish pony for a bit now I will weigh in on the latest development as well. Turkey recalled their ambassador home from the U.S.
The Turks negatively reacted against the U.S. Congressional draft resolution which labels the 1915-17 mass Armenian killings as genocide. The non-binding vote, passed by 27 to 21 votes by members of the Congressional House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the first step towards holding a vote in the House of Representatives.
The Turks are correct which is troubling.
Congress should not be historians of other countries.
For the time being, the position of Turkey, that there were mass killings in 1915-17 is enough: but, since Turkey denies genocide, the Congress saw fit to interject itself.
That is a mistake.
U.S. President George W. Bush argued against the resolution, saying its passage would do "great harm" to relations with "a key ally in NATO and in the global war on terror." He is correct.
The resolution will only irritate the Turks, annoy everyone else, and Congress should not be the arbiter of history.
The resolution can only increase the distrust that Turks have for the U.S. and it will have no positive influence whatsoever.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tilted Turkey towards Islamic conservatism and the resolution comes in the wake of reports that the Turkish parliament would discuss allowing military incursions into northern Iraq, possibly next week.
The vote comes after an escalation in attacks by the terrorist group, the Kurdish PKK which killed almost 30 soldiers and civilians in just over a week.
I see no good in the U.S. voting on the history of another people and I think diplomatic measures would be a far more effective tool. Historians are the ones who have established the Armenian genocide as a fact and the Turkish government has acknowledged this fact. In light of so much instability in the Middle East Turkey has moved towards neutrality about as far as any sovereign nation can. That is enough.
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