After the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a resolution that labels the killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as "genocide", this is the White House reaction:
"We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian people that began in 1915. This resolution is not the right response to those historic mass killings," Bush said at the White House.
Rice and Gates said Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker; and Adm. William Fallon, head of the U.S. Central Command, also raised concerns about the resolution.
Gates said good relations with Turkey are vital because 70 percent of the air cargo intended for U.S. forces in Iraq and 30 percent of the fuel consumed by those forces flies through Turkey." Read more here.
So, the Turkish government is now threatening to cause all kinds of grief, because unlike the Germans after WW11, the Turks don't want to step up and acknowledge the Armenian genocide. And what a surprise, the White House which only gives a shit about it's own self-interests wants to sweep it all under the carpet so these assholes aren't offended!
This is a telegram, sent May 29, 1915:
"Telegram Sent.
Department of State,
Washington May 29, 1915
Am[erican]embassy,
Constantinople.
French Foreign Office requests following notice be given Turkish Government. Quote. May 24th. For about a month the Kurd and Turkish population of Armenia has been massacring Armenians with the connivance and often assistance of Ottoman authorities. Such massacres took place in middle April (?) at Erzerum, Dertchun, Eguine, Akn, Bitlis, Mouch, Sassoun, Zeitoun, and through Cilicia. Inhabitants of about one hundred villages near Van were all murdered. In that city Armenian quarter is besieged by Kurds. At the same time in Constantinople government ill treats inoffensive Armenian population. In view of these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization the Allied governments announce publicly to the Sublime Porte that they will hold personally responsible these crimes all members of the Ottoman government and those of their agents who are implicated in such massacres. Unquote.
(signed) [William Jennings] Bryan"
For more information about the Armenian Genocide which most people know nothing about, this website is devoted to it.
Here's another site that's got a lot of information, Axis of Justice.
Can you guess what one of the reasons is for these guys always sounding so angry?:
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2 comments:
History repeating itself. Europe and the United States preaching to others, but saying nothing about their own atrocities. While Turkey was killing the Armenians, what do you think the Europeans (with the help of Americans) were doing in their former colonies?
See http://www.brushtail.com.au/july_04_on/bombing_arabs_history.html
By no stretch am I defending anyone here. I'm fully aware of the hypocrisy of the U.S. and European governments and it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, but that can be debated forever. My point in this post is to bring awareness to this particular issue, and to question why Turkey has such a problem with admitting that what happened almost a hundred years ago was genocide.
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