Turkish General Warns US Over Ties

[questionmark]

Turkish General Warns US Over Ties

By C. ONUR ANT | Associated Press Writer

STANBUL, Turkey - Turkey's top general warned that ties with the U.S., already strained by attacks from rebels hiding in Iraq, will be irreversibly damaged if Congress passes a resolution that labels the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.

Turkey, which is a major cargo hub for U.S. and allied military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, has recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations and warned that there might be a cut in the logistical support to the U.S. over the issue.

Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told daily Milliyet newspaper that a congressional committee's approval of the measure had already harmed ties between the two countries.

"If this resolution passed in the committee passes the House as well, our military ties with the U.S. will never be the same again," Buyukanit was quoted as saying by Milliyet.

"I'm the military chief, I deal with security issues. I'm not a politician," Buyukanit was quoted as saying by Milliyet. "In this regard, the U.S. shot its own foot."

President Bush has said the resolution is the wrong response to the Armenian deaths, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the measure's timing was important "because many of the survivors are very old."

"It is a statement made by 23 other countries. We would be the 24th country to make this statement. Genocide still exists, and we saw it in Rwanda; we see it now in Darfur," she told ABC's "This Week."

But Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the measure was "irresponsible."

"Listen, there's no question that the suffering of the Armenian people some 90 years ago was extreme. But what happened 90 years ago ought to be a subject for historians to sort out, not politicians here in Washington," he told "Fox News Sunday."

About 70 percent of U.S. air cargo headed for Iraq goes through Turkey as does about one-third of the fuel used by the U.S. military there. U.S. bases also get water and other supplies carried in overland by Turkish truckers who cross into Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

Full story, Source, Newsday

[Unlimited]

didnt it pass congress already?....

[keithisco]

didnt it pass congress already?....

Yes

[Mars]

We really need to break our ties with Turkey. This would be like Germany denying the Holocaust TODAY.

[ships-cat]

We really need to break our ties with Turkey. This would be like Germany denying the Holocaust TODAY.

Chronologically, it would be like Germany denying the holocaust in the year 2035. (90 years afterwards).

The Turks are being ridiculous about this. The atrocities occured before the current governmental structures where formed. This should have NO impact on modern Turkey.

And for the same reasons, it would be silly to contemplate criticising Turkey, let alone threatening to "break ties".

Meow Purr.