Viewed from the perspective of Iraq, recent Congressional actions concerning Turkey appear highly unfortunate.
The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs approved Wednesday (October 10, 2007) a resolution denouncing the annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923 as "genocide." The matter is expected to come before the full House and Senate in mid-November. Turkey has recalled its Ambassador and threatened to withdraw its support for the Iraq War.
President George W. Bush has criticized the resolution as "not the right response" to the century-old mass killings. As a matter of law and policy, I fully agree with the Congressional sponsors that the actions against the Armenians should be condemned as genocide and crimes against humanity. Because passage of the resolution could jeopardize United States troops and foreign policy, however, I find myself in the unusual position of accord with the President that now is not the time.
Since before the War Powers Resolution back in October 2002, some of us were on record as adamantly opposed to the invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, our troops are there and their interests must be paramount. The Secretary of Defense has indicated that 70 percent of air cargo destined for U.S. forces in Iraq and 30% of the fuel consumed by them is transported through Turkey. Even if such claim is exaggerated, it remains clear that Turkey is providing valuable assistance that it seems reckless to imperil. Also, Turkey has recently been reported to be undertaking preparations for a possible invasion of northern Iraq in an effort to stop incursions across its borders by armed Kurdish militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The United States strongly opposes such Turkish action in what is at this time the most stable region of Iraq, and passage of the U.S. genocide resolution could make it harder for officials in Ankara to resist heavy domestic pressures to act.
Moreover, many loyal Americans are convinced that the United States should disengage from active combat in Iraq as expeditiously as can be accomplished consistent with: on the one hand, providing for the safe and orderly redeployment of our armed forces and civilian contractors; and on the other, avoiding insofar as possible a catastrophic escalation of hostilities in Iraq and further destabilization of the region. With respect to the former, the most obvious exit from Iraq is fraught with pitfalls, since the only major route south to Kuwait is notoriously open and vulnerable to roadside bombings and other attacks. A less dangerous alternative could be to move U.S. troops and equipment through the Kurdish area in northern Iraq to bases and ports in Turkey, which would require the active cooperation of the Turkish government. More broadly, antagonizing a vital ally with whom relations have already been notably strained for the past few years hardly appears conducive to promoting U.S. interests and stability in the Middle East.
The issue has been posed in Congress as a regrettable choice between condoning genocide and supporting United States troops. That is a false juxtaposition, particularly regarding actions that took place back during World War I. For everything there is a season – but for this resolution, the time is not while we are still actively embroiled in another war in Iraq.
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