Sunday, March 7, 2010

Armenian Genocide: Another Obama Flip-Flop

On Thursday, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives recommended that the United States recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as genocide. In response, Turkey's ambassador to the United States flew home for "consultations".

The Obama administration strenuously opposed the committee's recommendation and is now doing all in its power to prevent a full House vote. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on Friday:

"The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was passed by only one vote in the House committee, and we'll work very hard to make sure it does not go to the House floor."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/06/us.turkey.genocide.debate/index.html?hpt=T2

However, none of this squares with Obama's unambiguous campaign promises. See, for example, Obama's statement on "The Importance of US-Armenian Relations," Jan. 19, 2008:

"I also share with Armenian Americans – so many of whom are descended from genocide survivors - a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history. As a U.S. Senator, I have stood with the Armenian American community in calling for Turkey's acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term "genocide" to describe Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide."

http://middleeast.about.com/od/turkey/qt/me090318b.htm

The murder of one and a half million Armenians must be recognized at long last as genocide, but Obama now lacks the courage to honor his commitment.

5 comments:

  1. Along with the viagra mentioned in a earlier blog,perhaps a calcium supplement is in order to give him some spine.

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  2. Seventy years ago,a monster in Germany took empowerment from the world turning a blind eye toward the Armenian genocide.Those that ignore history.....

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  3. Talking about not "turning a blind eye". I just added a paragraph in the Wikipedia article on Scheper-Hughes, stating that her mass media anti-Israel claims are not supported by her peer-reviewed publications; rather, they borrow from medieval blood libel and Nazi propaganda.

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  4. Now that Turkey has joined the axis of hate it's time to call a spade a spade. Turkey needs some warning labels sticked on to warn the world what this country was historically all about and what it might be capable of in the future.

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  5. Note Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's recent interview with the Saudi newspaper Al Wattan in which he states that he “loves my brothers in Fatah and my brothers in Hamas to the same degree, because they are my Muslim brothers and I cannot distinguish between them.”

    Turkey's NATO membership its fast growing meaningless or worse.

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