IHT: Armenians aim to destroy Turkish- US relations - Proposed genocide resolution naming Turkey risks damage to U.S. security, says Rice, Gates
For the complete report in the International Herald Tribune click on this link
Armenians aim to destroy Turkish- US relations - Proposed genocide resolution naming Turkey risks damage to U.S. security, says Rice, Gates
The U.S. secretaries of state and defense contend that the security of the United States is at risk from proposed legislation that would declare up to 1.5 million Armenians victims of a genocide on Turkish soil almost a century ago. In joint identical letters to the speaker of the House of Representatives and two other senior members, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the resolution also could inflict significant damage on U.S. efforts to reconcile the long-standing dispute between the West Asian neighbors. The appeals went to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Rep. John Boehner, leader of the House's Republican minority; and Rep. Tom Lantos, the Democrat who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of one of the letters Wednesday. It was dated March 7, two days after Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian was in Washington to visit Rice and said afterward that "Turkish lobbying at a government level" threatened to scuttle the resolution. Comment EU-Digest: It seems like the well financed and ferocious Armenian lobby is finally getting some Turkish "counter-action", thanks to invigorated world-wide Turkish grassroots political support networks.
