Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

United States Making a Big Mistake
by Orhan Kilercioglu - TURKSIH Daily News
Posted: Friday, October 13, 2000 01:41 am CST

The alleged "Armenian genocide" and the erroneous actions of certain countries are the reasons we face such crises from time to time. In just this way, the efforts of the Armenian lobby, wishing to exploit the vote-hungry atmosphere in the run up to the U.S. presidential elections, have once again led us into troubled waters. Even though the resolution has been accepted at the House of Representatives International Relations Subcommittee and the new articles that have been added to the text are increasing its chance of being accepted by the full House, we still hope that common sense and cooler heads will prevail.

That an experienced Turkish politician addressed the International Relations Subcommittee is of course significant in itself. Even though Ertemcelik said what had to be said, that the committee had left the door ajar for a mistake of historical proportions is, in my considered opinion, a huge mistake.

This is because international relations committees are the bodies that know what is in the best interests of their countries and actually shape and dictate to some degree the foreign policies to be adopted. A committee such as the U.S. International Relations Committee has access to vast sources of information and has the ability to make detailed studies or have them made. So, we have to link this colossal mistake it is making to other factors. This shows that the International Relations Committee is not aware of what is at stake. In addition, the fact that the body of the committee is unable to evaluate either the long and historical relations Turkey has had with the United States or what is best for the United states' interests raises some serious questions.

I have spent a large part of my active life as both a politician and an intelligence chief in NATO, but I am at a loss as to explain how and why the U.S. International Relations Committee is committing such a grave error of judgement.

Justifying how the Armenian lobby has managed to exert so much influence over the House of Representatives, in contrast to the thesis that says the entire issue is a matter for historians to decide upon using documented facts, is another issue in itself. This "issue" we refer to is an ugly ploy the entire world is aware of. In short, the U.S. House of Representatives is about to embark on a course, thanks to petty, short term, political interests, from which there can be no turning back.

President Clinton, the Pentagon and certain NATO officials seem to oppose the resolution. It is a pity that these opponents are in no way able to influence the committee. As the above mentioned people and institutions are ultimately responsible for the smooth running of U.S.-Turkey relations and these countries' mutual interests, and as they can see the historical facts without becoming embroiled in the Armenian game, they are taking the possible outcome of these developments very seriously.

In short, Turkey finds these developments most disturbing and is extremely concerned. The concerns of the Turkish people have been unable to find a voice in the United States, nor are they able to now, despite using various channels.

To date, the United States has made several mistakes, including embargoes. But this is an entirely different matter altogether. In fact, they are unaware that the very roots of our countries' relations are about to be dynamited. Passing the resolution through the full House will mean damaging both U.S. policies and interests, and its effects will be powerful enough to cause new decisions to be taken in the Middle East. Nobody should shy away from the facts. This is not a threat, but a promise. This text is written so as to help Clinton and others prevent the House of Representatives from making an irreversible mistake of historical proportions.

There is much to be written on this issue. We are not concerned with pointing out the mistakes made by the United States [native Americans] and Nazi Germany [lebensraum], mistakes which are still being committed today throughout the world, to the relevant countries. Forget it, let history judge. And on the subject of Armenia, it is also consciously making the biggest mistake in history.

In the hope that common sense and cool heads will prevail at the full House...

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