Continue Denying the Armenian GenocideMr. Erdogan, please keep up the good work. Armenians need your kind assistance to pursue their cause until justice is done. By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier
It is a well-known fact that Turkish leaders are exceptional diplomats. However, as soon as they hear the words Armenian Genocide, Greece, Cyprus or Kurdistan, these diplomats lose their “cool” and resort to emotional outbursts and undiplomatic actions that harm their own interests. Realizing that this is the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish officials have been nervously preparing themselves for the upcoming tsunami of commemorations that would remind the international community of the crimes against humanity committed by Ottoman Turks. The first unexpected shot was fired on February 26 by the Parliament of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Spain, when it unanimously recognized the Armenian Genocide. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately contacted his Spanish counterpart and Catalonian officials venting his anger and demanding an apology! Two days later, an expose of the Armenian Genocide was aired by CBS’s 60 Minutes, showing bones of Armenian victims still protruding from Syrian desert sands, almost a century later! The Turks were livid, accusing Armenians of unduly influencing the CBS network and questioning, as usual, the authenticity of the bones and the sand! Four days later, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. Turkey lost despite: n Pressuring the Obama administration to oppose the resolution; n Hiring multi-million dollar lobbying firms; n Sending teams of Turkish parliamentarians to Washington; n E-mail campaigns by Turkish and Azeri Americans; and n Threatening to boycott U.S. defense contractors if they did not oppose the resolution. Immediately after losing that vote, Turkey recalled its Ambassador from Washington, indicating that he may be kept in Ankara until after April 24. State Minister Zafer Caglayan postponed his U.S. visit, intended to develop economic ties, “until the United States corrects its mistake.” A scheduled trip by the executive board of the Turkish Industrialists’ & Businessmen’s Association to Washington on March 16 and 17 was also canceled, and anti-American protests were held in Turkish cities. More importantly, Prime Minister Erdogan indicated that he might cancel his planned participation in the global summit on nuclear security to be held in Washington next month. Before Turkish passions had cooled down, Sweden’s Parliament dealt a second devastating blow to Ankara on March 11, by reaffirming the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, by a vote of 131-130. Once again, Turkey recalled its Ambassador, and Prime Minister Erdogan canceled his upcoming trip to Stockholm which was to be accompanied by a large trade delegation. And, anti-Swedish demonstrations were held in several Turkish cities. These overly dramatic reactions prompted Turkish and foreign commentators to have a field day, speculating that if more countries recognize the Armenian Genocide, Turkey won’t have ambassadors left anywhere in the world, and Turkish officials won’t be visiting other countries, having to cancel their overseas trips. Furthermore, Turkey would be left without any imported goods and a weakened military, having canceled all purchases from the outside world. Turkey’s isolation is a just retribution for its denialist policy. By trying to punish others, Turkey is simply punishing itself. Vahe Magarian of Cincinnati, Ohio, sent a pointed letter to the New York Times last week, suggesting that Turkey’s recalled Ambassadors, “rather than flying home, should be made to march home on foot. Forced marches were the preferred means of travel during the dying days of the Ottoman Empire.” Prominent Turkish commentator Can Dundar wrote in Haber1 an article titled: “Are we going to recall all our Ambassadors?” He stated that, at this rate, by the time the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide rolls around in 2015, there won’t be a single country left not accusing Turkey of genocide. Isn’t it about time that we search out what dirty work our fathers did 95 years ago? Shouldn’t we ask what did we do wrong, Dundar implored. The main reason why Turkish officials panic every time the Armenian Genocide is acknowledged by yet another country is their fear of being asked to pay compensation for Armenian losses and return the occupied lands. Prime Minister Erdogan and his colleagues don’t seem to understand that Genocide recognition by itself does not lead to legal claims. How many inches of land have Armenians managed to liberate from Turkey as a result of such recognition by more than 20 countries? If Turkish leaders would only understand that parliamentary resolutions have no legal effect, maybe they would not get so excited over them! Nevertheless, there should be no doubt that Armenians still demand the return of their ancestral lands located in Eastern Turkey. Such claims have to be pursued in various courts, unless an unexpected cataclysmic event occurs first, causing the collapse or dismemberment of the Turkish State. In the meantime, we advise Mr. Erdogan to continue denying the Genocide at every opportunity, in order to encourage Armenians to persist in their efforts to expose Ankara’s lies. Were it not for Turkish officials’ vehement denials, there would not have been a worldwide outcry to reaffirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide by airing TV documentaries and adopting genocide resolutions. Mr. Erdogan, please keep up the good work. Armenians need your kind assistance to pursue their cause until justice is done. |
Category: Business
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Advice to Prime Minister Erdogan:
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Gul Named Chatham House Prize Winner Because Of His Leader Qualities, Says Chairman
LONDON (A.A) – 19.03.2010 – Turkish President Abdullah Gul has been voted the winner of this year’s Chatham House Prize because of his qualities as a national, regional and international leader, Chairman of Chatham House said on Friday.“I warmly congratulate the President on this award which recognizes his accomplishments and acknowledges the growing influence he has achieved for Turkey,” DeAnne Julius said in a statement.
Gul will be invited to collect the award and a scroll signed by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in London later this year. The other nominees for this year’s prize were French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.
Robin Niblett, Director of Chatham House, said “Chatham House members have a deep interest in international affairs and have voted for President Gul to acknowledge his efforts within Turkey as well as on the international stage. Our members represent a cross-section of the most influential globally orientated individuals in business, academia and public life.”
Suzan Sabancı Dincer, a member of Chatham House Panel of Senior Advisers, and Chairman and Executive Board Member of Akbank, said that she was proud and delighted that President Gul is to receive this prestigious award.
“His efforts to bring stability and prosperity to Turkey’s region and his encouragement of Turkey’s rapid progress towards reform and full European integration have been acknowledged by Chatham House members,” she said.
The Chatham House Prize is an annual award presented to the statesperson deemed by members of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year. (TÇ-CE)
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President Abdullah Gül Voted Winner of the Chatham House Prize 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 13.30 HRS FRIDAY 19 MARCH
Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey, has been voted the winner of
the Chatham House Prize 2010. This annual award is presented to
the statesperson deemed by members of the Royal Institute of
International Affairs at Chatham House to have made the most
significant contribution to the improvement of international
relations in the previous year.President Gül is recognized for being a significant figure for
reconciliation and moderation within Turkey and internationally,
and a driving force behind many of the positive steps that Turkey
has taken in recent years.Mr Gül has worked to deepen Turkey’s traditional ties with
the Middle East, mediate between the fractious groups in Iraq
and bring together the Afghan and Pakistani leaderships to try to
resolve disputes during 2009. He has also made significant efforts
to reunify the divided island of Cyprus and has played a leading
role, along with his Armenian counterpart, in initiating a process
of reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia.President Gül is also recognized for being an unwavering
proponent of anchoring Turkey in the European Union. Under
his leadership, Turkey is consolidating civilian democratic rule
and undergoing extensive political and legal reforms to bring the
country closer to European standards of democracy and human rights.President Gül will be invited to collect the award and a scroll
signed by our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, at a ceremony in
London later this year.Dr DeAnne Julius, Chairman of Chatham House, said:
‘President Gül has been voted the winner of this year’s Chatham
House Prize because of his qualities as a national, regional and
international leader. I warmly congratulate the President on this
award which recognizes his accomplishments and acknowledges the
growing influence he has achieved for Turkey.’Dr Robin Niblett, Director of Chatham House, said: ‘Chatham
House members have a deep interest in international affairs and
have voted for President Gül to acknowledge his efforts within
Turkey as well as on the international stage. Our members
represent a cross-section of globally orientated individuals in
business, academia and public life.’Suzan Sabanci Dinçer, Panel of Senior Advisers, Chatham House,
and Chairman and Executive Board Member, Akbank, said: ‘As a
Chatham House Senior Adviser and a Turkish citizen I am proud and
delighted that President Gül is to receive this prestigious award.
His efforts to bring stability and prosperity to Turkey’s region
and his encouragement of Turkey’s rapid progress towards reform
and full European integration have been acknowledged by Chatham
House members.’About the Chatham House Prize
The process to select the nominees of the Prize draws on the
recommendations of our research teams and the advice of our three
Presidents. Chatham House members then vote for the winner in a ballot.
The winner is presented with a crystal award and a scroll signed
by our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. The other nominees for the
2010 Prize were Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister, France and
Stjepan Mesic, President of Croatia (2000-10).Previous Winners of the Chatham House Prize
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil won the Prize in
2009; President John Kufuor of Ghana was the 2008 winner; HH
Sheikha Mozah, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education,
Science and Community Development, was the 2007 winner; Joaquim
Chissano, President of Mozambique (1986-2005), was the 2006
winner; and President Victor Yushchenko of Ukraine was awarded the
inaugural Prize in 2005.About the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham
House)
Chatham House is both the name of the building in London in which
the institute is based and the name by which the Royal Institute
of International Affairs is widely known. Our mission is to be a
world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and
influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world
for all.Chatham House Presidents
Chatham House is politically independent and has Presidents
and Council Members from each of the three major UK political
parties. Our Presidents are: Lord Ashdown, (High Representative of
the International Community and EU Special Representative in
Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2002-06); Sir John Major, (UK
Prime Minister 1990-97); and Lord Robertson (Secretary General,
NATO, 1999-2003).Contacts
Dates for the award ceremony will be released in a separate
press announcement when the details are confirmed. The award ceremony
will take place in London and will be open to the media.Nicola Norton, Media Relations Manager
Direct: +44 (0)20 7957 5739
Mobile: +44 (0)7917 757 528
[email protected]Sara Karnas, Communications Administrator
Direct: +44 (0)20 7314 2787
Mobile: +44 (0)7958 669 785
[email protected]Keith Burnet, Communications Director
Direct: +44 (0)20 7314 2798
Mobile: +44 (0)7714 200 920
[email protected]ENDS
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Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer – Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:19 pm ETPARKERSBURG, W.Va. – The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.
It’s time to start cashing them in.
For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits — billions more each year.
Not anymore. This year, for the first time since the 1980s, when Congress last overhauled Social Security, the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.
Sounds like a good time to start tapping the nest egg. Too bad the federal government already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors. In return, the Treasury Department issued a stack of IOUs — in the form of Treasury bonds — which are kept in a nondescript office building just down the street from Parkersburg’s municipal offices.
Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn’t be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come.
Social Security’s shortfall will not affect current benefits. As long as the IOUs last, benefits will keep flowing. But experts say it is a warning sign that the program’s finances are deteriorating. Social Security is projected to drain its trust funds by 2037 unless Congress acts, and there’s concern that the looming crisis will lead to reduced benefits.
“This is not just a wake-up call, this is it. We’re here,” said Mary Johnson, a policy analyst with The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group. “We are not going to be able to put it off any more.”
For more than two decades, regardless of which political party was in power, Congress has been accused of raiding the Social Security trust funds to pay for other programs, masking the size of the budget deficit.
Remember Al Gore’s “lockbox,” the one he was going to use to protect Social Security? The former vice president talked about it so much during the 2000 presidential campaign that he was parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
Gore lost the election and never got his lockbox. But to illustrate the government’s commitment to repaying Social Security, the Treasury Department has been issuing special bonds that earn interest for the retirement program. The bonds are unique because they are actually printed on paper, while other government bonds exist only in electronic form.
They are stored in a three-ring binder, locked in the bottom drawer of a white metal filing cabinet in the Parkersburg offices of Bureau of Public Debt. The agency, which is part of the Treasury Department, opened offices in Parkersburg in the 1950s as part of a plan to locate important government functions away from Washington, D.C., in case of an attack during the Cold War.
One bond is worth a little more than $15.1 billion and another is valued at just under $10.7 billion. In all, the agency has about $2.5 trillion in bonds, all backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. But don’t bother trying to steal them; they’re nonnegotiable, which means they are worthless on the open market.
More than 52 million people receive old age or disability benefits from Social Security. The average benefit for retirees is a little under $1,200 a month. Disabled workers get an average of $1,100 a month.
Social Security is financed by payroll taxes — employers and employees must each pay a 6.2 percent tax on workers’ earnings up to $106,800. Retirees can start getting early, reduced benefits at age 62. They get full benefits if they wait until they turn 66. Those born after 1960 will have to wait until they turn 67.
Social Security’s financial problems have been looming for years as the nation’s 78 million baby boomers approached retirement age. The oldest are already there. As that huge group of people starts collecting benefits — and stops paying payroll taxes — Social Security’s trust funds will shrink, running out of money by 2037, according to the latest projection from the trustees who oversee the program.
The recession is making things worse, at least in the short term. Tax receipts are down from the loss of more than 8 million jobs, and applications for early retirement benefits have spiked from older workers who were laid off and forced to retire.
Stephen C. Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration, says the crisis has been years in the making. “If this helps get people to look more seriously at that in the nearer term, that’s probably a good thing. But it’s only really a punctuation mark on the fact that we have longer-term financial issues that need to be addressed.”
In the short term, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that Social Security will continue to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes for the next three years. It is projected to post small surpluses of $6 billion each in 2014 and 2015, before returning to indefinite deficits in 2016.
For the budget year that ends in September, Social Security is projected to collect $677 billion in taxes and spend $706 billion on benefits and expenses.
Social Security will also collect about $120 billion in interest on the trust funds, according to the CBO projections, meaning its overall balance sheet will continue to grow. The interest, however, is paid by the government, adding even more to the budget deficit.
While Congress must shore up the program, action is unlikely this year, said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., who just took over last week as chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees Social Security.
“The issues required to address the long-term solvency needs of Social Security can be done in a careful, thoughtful and orderly way and they don’t need to be done in the next few months,” Pomeroy said.
The national debt — the amount of money the government owes its creditors — is about $12.5 trillion, or nearly $42,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. About $8 trillion has been borrowed in public debt markets, much of it from foreign creditors. The rest came from various government trust funds, including retirement funds for civil servants and the military. About $2.5 trillion is owed to Social Security.
Good luck to the politician who reneges on that debt, said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who is now president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“Those bonds are protected by the full faith and credit of the United States of America,” Kennelly said. “They’re as solid as what we owe China and Japan.”
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PIIGS: My Big Fat Greek Deficit
Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research Saturday, March 6, 2010
Wall Street seems obsessed with pigs these days.
PIIGS, that is – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain – the smaller economies in Europe.
Many people worry whether these countries can honor their sovereign debt because of high, already-existing debt levels. And the U.S. Senate might even investigate Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) for allegedly hiding Greek debt from European regulators…
Talk about locking the barn door after the Trojan horse has already bolted.
Also foolishly, investors have vilified every single company in those countries. Fears have spread that neighboring economies are suspect as well, by association. And in response, investors have either backed away from that region altogether or full-out shorted related stocks.
Either way, they don’t know what they’re missing out on. But not to worry. That very panic leaves excellent deals for those smart enough to pick them up.
The Relative Performance of European Companies
Speaking about the situation in Europe, Robert Parkes, equity strategist at HSBC, recently summed it up well:
“The macro factors are affecting the relative performance of companies. Companies in weaker peripheral countries will be hit by their poorer economies. They may also face higher taxes and lose competitiveness with overseas rivals.”
For example, just take the relative performance of Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) and Deutsche Telecom (NYSE: DT), two large European telecom companies over the past three months.
Since the middle of November, PT shares have underperformed rival DT by 5%.
During the same time, PT’s bond yield widened about 20 basis points versus the benchmark German bund. DT’s barely moved.
PT’s credit default swaps nearly doubled to about 140 basis points. DT’s fell from 75 to 70.
And all of this occurred in spite of their similar credit ratings and businesses.
Companies in the utilities and banking sector are showing similar divides across Europe. Since mid-November, the Greek stock market tanked about 25%. Portugal’s fell 11%. But France and Germany’s dropped a mere 4% and 3% respectively.
So what does that all mean?
It indicates that right now, investors care more about location than balance sheets or earnings.
And that is just plain stupid.
Euro Gems
What sort of companies should investors look to pick up while Wall Street sits transfixed by the repeated showing of My Big Fat Greek Deficit?
Fundamentals are always important. But also look for businesses with big exposure to the emerging markets. Those up-and-coming economies are growing much faster than the industrialized world, which is saddled with high debt.
Despite its base in Greece, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling ADR’s (NYSE: CCH) share price jumped nearly 10 per cent in the past three months, helped along by continued strong demand for non-alcoholic drinks in countries like Poland.
The previously mentioned Portugal Telecom and its Spanish rival Telefonica ADR (NYSE: TEF) have a large presence in Brazil. And that connection makes them both worth buying into.
Telefonica also controls the Sao Paulo-based, fixed-line phone company, Telesp ADR (NYSE: TSP). And it jointly owns Vivo ADR (NYSE: VIV) – Brazil’s largest mobile phone operator – with Portugal Telecom.
If you enjoy playing with more risk, look into large Spanish banks with major exposure to Latin America. That includes Banco Santander ADR (NYSE: STD) and Banco Bilbao ADR (NYSE: BBVA).
Those companies should weather the sovereign risk storms much better than others in the region that focus exclusively on domestic economies.
It comes down to this: If a lot of a company’s revenues come from the emerging world, its location is simply not important. So while Greece and the other PIIGS might be in over their heads, the companies based there might not be… especially if they deal with strong economies elsewhere.
Those kinds of businesses have been unjustifiably beaten down and represent excellent buys right now.
Good investing,
Tony Daltorio
Related Investment U Articles:
Enough Dra(ch)ma: The Euro Will Thrive… When PIIGS Fly!
The PIIGS Nations: Five International Investments for Any Global Stock Watchlist
Two Sagging Economies… Two Laid-Back Banks -
A True Eastern Star : Carlos Selim El Turco, Richest Man on the Earth
At a press conference held Thursday in New York, Forbes Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes announced its annual list of billionaires, with 1,011 individuals making the list, up from 793 last year despite a difficult year for global economies. The list also saw the first non-American at the top since 1994 with Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican telecommunications tycoon, as the richest man in the world, worth $53.5 billion. Bill Gates was a close second with $53 billion.
Turkey’s performance was also noteworthy, as 28 Turks made the list, up from 13 billionaires the previous year. Hüsnü Özyeğin of the Fiba Group was the richest Turkish billionaire on the list with a net worth of $3 billion at 316th place. Mehmet Emin Karamehmet of Çukurova Holding was 342nd and the second richest Turk, worth $2.9 billion. Following them was Şarık Tara of Enka Construction with $2.6 billion in 367th place.
Turkish papers called Carlos Slim Helu as the worlds richest Turk. Not really but he has an interesting connection to the Ottoman era.
According to Forbes magazine, Carlos Slim Helu with his $ 53,5 billion wealth is the world’s richest individual. He is the the son of an Ottoman immigrant to Mexico in 1902 [1], a man called Yusuf Selim Hattat Ağlamaz who later changed his name to Julian Slim Haddad Aglamaz, a member of Lebanon’s Roman Catholic Church. His first enterprise was a dry goods emporium callled ” La Estrella Del Oriente”, [2] A true “Eastern Star.”
[1] 14 years of age, speaking no Spanish. He was escaping from the Ottoman Empire, which at the time conscripted young men into its army; mothers therefore sent their sons to exile before turning fifteen. And thus Don Julián arrived in Mexico; he was a young man, energetic and full of enthusiasm and ideas, who after disembarking in Veracruz, moved to Tampico, Tamaulipas, where four of his older brothers had already settled since 1898 (José, Elías, Carlos and Pedro Slim) with the conviction that they would succeed together with the country that had received them.
Carlos Slim’s mother, Doña Linda Helú, was born in Parral, Chihuahua. She was the daughter of José Helú and Wadiha Atta, Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century, and after traveling through several cities in the Mexican Republic, decided to settle in the capital city. José Helú brought the first Arabic printing press to Mexico and founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in this country.
[2] La Estrella de Oriente was located on Calle de Capuchinas (today Venustiano Carranza); that, over time and with Don Julián’s extraordinary work ethic and business talent, had merchandise worth more than US$100,000 by January 21, 1921, only ten years after the business was founded. By that time, Don Julián had also acquired eleven more properties in the area, which was one of the most commercial, active and significant in downtown Mexico City.
Link: Fuente : Su página personal : http://www.carlosslim.com/biografia.html
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Israel Lobby Gets Congress to Stick It to Turkey
The Israelis are trying to teach the Turks a lesson…….This was simply an act of punishment for Turkey for not being nice to Israel and for courting Iran.
MJ Rosenberg
Senior Fellow Media Matters Action Network
Posted: March 5, 2010 11:42 AMThat battle is now being carried to Washington. The Israelis are trying to teach the Turks a lesson. If the Armenian resolution passes both houses and goes into effect, it will not be out of some newfound compassion for the victims of the Armenian genocide and their descendants, but to send a message to Turkey: if you mess with Israel, its lobby will make Turkey pay a price in Washington.
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MJ Rosenberg
M.J. Rosenberg is the former Director of Policy Analysis for Israel Policy Forum (IPF).
In this position, MJ heads IPF’s Washington, D.C. office and writes IPF Friday, a weekly opinion column on the Arab-Israeli conflict which is widely circulated throughout the United States and the Middle East. In addition, MJ has published numerous op-eds, in the national and Jewish press.
MJ spent eighteen years within the United States government, fourteen on Capitol Hill as an aide to Representatives Jonathan Bingham (D-New York), Edward Feighan (D-Ohio) and Nita Lowey (D-New York) and Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan). Immediately prior to coming to IPF, he was a political appointee to USAID, where he served as Chief of Staff for Thomas Dine, the head of the Eastern Europe/NIS Bureau of USAID.
From 1982 to 1986, MJ was editor of Near East Report, the American Israel Public Affair Committee’s (AIPAC’s) biweekly publication on Middle East Policy.
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Israel Lobby Gets Congress to Stick It to Turkey
Yesterday the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Armenian genocide resolution. That is the bill, kicking around for years, that recognizes the Armenian genocide as precisely that – genocide. The Turkish government has always strongly opposed the resolution, arguing – unconvincingly, in my opinion – that the slaughter of the Armenians occurred in the context of war and was not an attempt at their intentional eradication.
I never understood why the Turks care so much. The current democratic Turkish Republic was not even in existence during the Armenian slaughter. It is the successor state to the Ottoman Empire under which the killing took place. The current Turkish government is no more responsible for the Armenian genocide than the current German government is responsible for the Holocaust.
Nonetheless, the Turks vehemently oppose using the term “genocide” to describe the events of 1915.
And successive American administrations have deferred to the Turks by opposing Congressional bills “commemorating” the “Armenian genocide.”
It is no different this year. The Obama administration lobbied against the resolution because it believed that enacting it would disrupt our relations with Turkey, a fellow NATO member and our largest ally in the Middle East. It also argued that passing the bill now would disrupt negotiations now underway between Turkey and Armenia.
It passed anyway and the Turks immediately called its ambassador home.
But here is where it gets really interesting. The following comes from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the Associated Press of the Jewish world. JTA writes:
In the past, the pro-Israel community [i.e. the Israel lobby] , has lobbied hard against previous attempts to pass similar resolutions, citing warnings from Turkish officials that it could harm the
alliance not only with the United States but with Israel — although Israel has always tried to avoid mentioning the World War I-era genocide.
In the last year or so, however, officials of American pro-Israel groups have said that while they will not support new resolutions, they will no longer oppose them, citing Turkey’s heightened rhetorical attacks on Israel and a flourishing of outright anti-Semitism the government has done little to stem.
That has lifted the fetters for lawmakers like Berman (Chairman Howard Berman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee) , who had been loath to abet in the denial of a genocide; Berman and a host of other members of the House’s unofficial Jewish caucus have signed on as co-sponsors.
Get that. The lobby has always opposed deeming the Armenian slaughter a genocide largely because Turkey has (or had) good relations with Israel. And the lobby, and its Congressional acolytes, did not want to harm those relations.
But, since the Gaza war, Turkish-Israeli relations have deteriorated. The Turks, like pretty much every other nation on the planet, were appalled by the Israeli onslaught against the Gazans. And said so.
Ever since, the Netanyahu government has made a point to stick it to the Turks. Most famously, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon seated the Turkish ambassador in a kindergarten chair during a meeting, and “forgot” to put a Turkish flag on the table alongside the Israeli flag. He then called the Israeli photographers in and said to them in Hebrew – so the Turkish ambassador wouldn’t understand, “The important thing is that they see he’s sitting lower and we’re up high and that there’s only one flag, and you see we’re not smiling.”
News of that episode so enraged the Turks and humiliated the Israelis that Ayalon had to apologize three times, in progressively more abject terms, or face a rupture in Israeli-Turkish relations.
That battle is now being carried to Washington. The Israelis are trying to teach the Turks a lesson. If the Armenian resolution passes both houses and goes into effect, it will not be out of some newfound compassion for the victims of the Armenian genocide and their descendants, but to send a message to Turkey: if you mess with Israel, its lobby will make Turkey pay a price in Washington.
And, just maybe, the United States will pay it too.
Follow MJ Rosenberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mjmediamattersHuffington Post
686 words posted in Zionist provocation, Af-Pak war, , Israel • Leave a comment
COMMENTS
Dnlmsstch I’m a Fan of Dnlmsstch 17 fans permalink
The reason that the Turks have a problem admiting the genocide is becasue Mustafa Kamal and other founders of the Modern Secular Turkish Republic were involved – if not directly at least peripheraly – to admit that is like admiting that George Washington and other founder were complicit with the genocide of Native Americans.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:46 PM on 3/05/2010
– lightningbolt I’m a Fan of lightningbolt 142 fans permalink
As usual, everything will be blamed on Israel. The Jewish people are the eternal scapegoat.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:36 PM on 3/05/2010
– joeinvt I’m a Fan of joeinvt 13 fans permalink
Are you denying or defending the Armenian genocide? And are you opposed to lobbying generally or simply effective lobbying done by Jews?
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:48 PM on 3/05/2010
– mok10501 permalink
This comment is pending approval and won’t be displayed until it is approved.
Henry Kissinger was lobbying for the Turks, isn’t he the biggest Jew in the nation? What happened, didn’t the Turks paid enough? Oo, I see, that penny pincher doesn’t count ha?.
Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:10 PM on 3/05/2010
– lbsaltzman I’m a Fan of lbsaltzman 92 fans permalink
Excellent post. I am reminded of the shifting alliances in the novel 1984. Ironically Israel had better be careful or one day it may be that Congress will no longer be afraid to discuss the truth about Israel.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:31 PM on 3/05/2010
– Annoula I’m a Fan of Annoula 21 fans permalink “That battle is now being carried to Washington. The Israelis are trying to teach the Turks a lesson. If the Armenian resolution passes both houses and goes into effect, it will not be out of some newfound compassion for the victims of the Armenian genocide and their descendants, but to send a message to Turkey: if you mess with Israel, its lobby will make Turkey pay a price in Washington. And, just maybe, the United States will pay it too. ”
Precisely that’s the core of the issue right now. That the US reserves the right to label war atrocities and crimes against humanity depending on how it fits its agenda and/or Israel’s. For as long as the relations between Israel and Turkey continued to be good, that resolution would never had made it out of Comittee. This was simply an act of punishment for Turkey for not being nice to Israel and for courting Iran. In my book, that’s called HYPOCRISY. The sad truth is the US has become a tool of the Likud party. And the attacks on 9/11 were a response to that. How much more is the US willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Zionists zealots?
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:06 PM on 3/05/2010
