Open Turkey thread
CNN reports that the Turkish government has not taken too kindly to the U.S. House of Representatives: Turkey on Thursday recalled its ambassador to the United States and warned of repercussions in a growing dispute over congressional efforts to label the World War I era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces “genocide.” The U.S. ...
CNN reports that the Turkish government has not taken too kindly to the U.S. House of Representatives: Turkey on Thursday recalled its ambassador to the United States and warned of repercussions in a growing dispute over congressional efforts to label the World War I era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces "genocide." The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed the measure 27-21 Wednesday. President Bush and key administration figures lobbied hard against the measure, saying it would create unnecessary headaches for U.S. relations with Turkey. Turkey -- now a NATO member and a key U.S. ally in the war on terror -- accepts Armenians were killed but call it a massacre during a chaotic time, not an organized campaign of genocide. The full House could vote on the genocide resolution as early as Friday. A top Turkish official warned Thursday that consequences "won't be pleasant" if the full House approves the resolution. "Yesterday some in Congress wanted to play hardball," said Egemen Bagis, foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I can assure you Turkey knows how to play hardball.".... House Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos, D-California, was unmoved by the Turkish government's protests. "The Turkish government will not act against the United States because that would be against their own interests," he told CNN. "I'm convinced of this." But Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing the resolution, and said the backlash threatened by Turkey could disrupt "America's ability to redeploy U.S. military forces from Iraq," a top Democratic priority. Turkey, a NATO member, has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and a conduit for sending supplies into Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that good relations with Turkey are vital because 70 percent of the air cargo sent to U.S. forces in Iraq and 30 percent of the fuel consumed by those forces fly through Turkey. U.S. commanders "believe clearly that access to airfields and roads and so on, in Turkey, would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they will," Gates said. Bagis said no French planes have flown through Turkish airspace since a French Parliament committee passed a similar resolution last year. He said the response to the U.S. might not be the same, but warned if the full House passes it that "we will do something, and I can promise you it won't be pleasant."Comment away. A few questions worthy of discussion: 1) Hey, what happened to the Democrats' claimi that they would restore America's image to the rest of the world? 2) Doesn't the Lantos quote sound an awful lot like George W. Bush's strategic thought? UPDATE: This is not the first example of Lantos screwing up U.S. foreign policy. 3) So when will we get to read The Armenian Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy?
CNN reports that the Turkish government has not taken too kindly to the U.S. House of Representatives:
Turkey on Thursday recalled its ambassador to the United States and warned of repercussions in a growing dispute over congressional efforts to label the World War I era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces “genocide.” The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed the measure 27-21 Wednesday. President Bush and key administration figures lobbied hard against the measure, saying it would create unnecessary headaches for U.S. relations with Turkey. Turkey — now a NATO member and a key U.S. ally in the war on terror — accepts Armenians were killed but call it a massacre during a chaotic time, not an organized campaign of genocide. The full House could vote on the genocide resolution as early as Friday. A top Turkish official warned Thursday that consequences “won’t be pleasant” if the full House approves the resolution. “Yesterday some in Congress wanted to play hardball,” said Egemen Bagis, foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I can assure you Turkey knows how to play hardball.”…. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos, D-California, was unmoved by the Turkish government’s protests. “The Turkish government will not act against the United States because that would be against their own interests,” he told CNN. “I’m convinced of this.” But Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing the resolution, and said the backlash threatened by Turkey could disrupt “America’s ability to redeploy U.S. military forces from Iraq,” a top Democratic priority. Turkey, a NATO member, has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and a conduit for sending supplies into Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that good relations with Turkey are vital because 70 percent of the air cargo sent to U.S. forces in Iraq and 30 percent of the fuel consumed by those forces fly through Turkey. U.S. commanders “believe clearly that access to airfields and roads and so on, in Turkey, would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they will,” Gates said. Bagis said no French planes have flown through Turkish airspace since a French Parliament committee passed a similar resolution last year. He said the response to the U.S. might not be the same, but warned if the full House passes it that “we will do something, and I can promise you it won’t be pleasant.”
Comment away. A few questions worthy of discussion:
1) Hey, what happened to the Democrats’ claimi that they would restore America’s image to the rest of the world? 2) Doesn’t the Lantos quote sound an awful lot like George W. Bush’s strategic thought? UPDATE: This is not the first example of Lantos screwing up U.S. foreign policy. 3) So when will we get to read The Armenian Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy?
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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