'07 US Armenian Genocide Bill news

[Hovik]

Absolutley and kudos to you. Any voice is certainly better then none at all. We would be easy to ignore if we never spoke up - and lets face it - these congress people and their staffs are fairly ignorant of most historical or ethnic or regional issues. Without some prep they are vulnerable to believe anything. These Turkish counter arguments - like Laciner makes - have become quite slick - much more then they ever used to be. Only by knowing the real facts can they be countered. Tis is whay I think Hoviks (mythbusters) initiative is a very good one. In fact I think besides the existance of this forum itself - as a repository for Armenian Genocide related facts and postings - it is the most important thing that can be accomplished here and I think we should approach it with diligence. I have wanted to present such arguments in a cohesive form for a long time now and while Dadrian's bit that is commonly refered to is good - it needs batter treatment - more specific and better referenced. I think this site could become a great resource - a repository if you will - of such information. Many Armenians (and others) understand the basics of the Genocide - but do not know the history well enough to sufficiently argue the points often made by Turks who try to bring up counter arguments. I have sen this again and again on Armenian forums where Turks come in and where the level of discussion is too superficial to be of any real utility and where misinfomed (and sometimes downright pathetically uniformed) Armenians fail to properly counter the Turkish denials and cannot convincingly make the case. Well the history is known in detail and everything needs to be put into context and tied back to actual first hand observation and using scholarly analysis and not just cliches and other superficial (and sometimes shallowly racist and off the mark) responses. We can do better and I'm very enthusiastic about contributing in such a way (only wish i had more time to do it properly and on the scale it needs to be done)...but in the meantime we can't let the Turkish spin go unchallenged. The truth of the Genocide is known and its very well documented. And we cannot let it be challenged. There is of course a great deal of background, context and perspective (even legitimate Turkish perspective) that needs to be revealed, discussed, and understood...and who knows - maybe there will be a day where Turks and Armenians can come to an understanding of these events and we will not have to face this wall of denial.

Actually, having worked for an Armenian-Caucus Co-chair on the hill, I can tell you the congressman/woman rarely meets with lobbyists. It's usually the LA's (Legislative Assistants) that handle this, in small groups. I personally never saw them commit to support anything that they weren't informed about, and never just bought what they were told.

They're actually pretty hard to convince, and in the end, it all gets passed up to the Congressman/woman for them to make the ultimate decision on where to stand. I wouldn't want the job of a lobbyist, but I wouldn't mind being back in Congress.

[Joseph]

Actually, having worked for an Armenian-Caucus Co-chair on the hill, I can tell you the congressman/woman rarely meets with lobbyists. It's usually the LA's (Legislative Assistants) that handle this, in small groups. I personally never saw them commit to support anything that they weren't informed about, and never just bought what they were told.

They're actually pretty hard to convince, and in the end, it all gets passed up to the Congressman/woman for them to make the ultimate decision on where to stand. I wouldn't want the job of a lobbyist, but I wouldn't mind being back in Congress.

We have our work cut out for us but this is the best opportunity since 2000.

[Joseph]

Issue #4 (223), January 26, 2007
(Januaray 26, 2007)
New Congress, New Hope: Genocide Recognition resolution to appear before US lawmakers
By John Hughes
ArmeniaNow reporter
A resolution is expected to be introduced Tuesday (January 30) to the United States Congress that would, again, call on the US to officially recognize the killing and displacement of early-20th century Armenians in Turkey as genocide.
(Disputed by Turkey as war collateral, Armenians claim up to 1.5 million casualties between 1915-18.)

{ai196601.jpg|left}The bill (HR316) will be jointly introduced by members of the Armenian Caucus, representing states where Congressional districts are heavily influenced by the Armenian Diaspora. As of Friday, 137 members of Congress supported the resolution (from a total of 435).

The United States has consistently rejected similar resolutions before every Congress in recent memory. Needing to remain cordial relations with Turkey for its strategic military value, the US has refused efforts by its strong Armenian Diaspora to make Genocide recognition part of its policy. (John Evans, the latest US Ambassador to Armenia was dismissed early from his post, because, as was widely perceived, he used the word “genocide” in a speech before a Diaspora audience. The White House denies that Evans was dismissed for that reason.)

Still, lobbyists in Yerevan and Washington, D.C., are optimistic that the resolution – unchanged since it was introduced before the last Congress -- might be more popularly received than in previous years.

In Yerevan Monday, Armenian Assembly of America Country Director Arpi Vartanian told ArmeniaNow that a recent shift in general public perception and the recent election of a Democrat-led congress would seem to favor support of this resolution. Coming, too, only a week after the internationally-reported death of Turkish-Armenian journalist and Genocide recognition activist Hrant Dink, the resolution has relevance outside the Armenian community.

“My hope is that Hrant’s murder will not have been in vain,” Vartanian said. “If it results in Genocide recognition, in the abolition of (Turkey’s) Article 301, in freedom of speech, it will not have been in vain. The adoption of this resolution would be one positive that could come out of this tragedy.”

Hopes of the Assembly and other lobbying groups ride, too, on the recent political shift in America that installed an Armenia-friendly Democrat as Speaker of the House.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (California) has backed previous genocide recognition resolutions and has pledged to use her influence as the third most powerful member of the US Government to support a change in policy. “Her position is known,” Vartanian said, “and I’m sure it carries weight.”

Similar optimism has been sounded from Armenian-Americans’ other strong political action group.

The Armenian National Committee of America (www.anca.org) has said: “With the recent changes in Washington, DC, we have the best opportunity in years to defeat Turkey’s Armenian Genocide denial campaign” and urges its supporters to “strike while the iron is hot”.

The Assembly Country Director also acknowledges that, relatively recently, influential publications such as the Boston Globe and The New York Times newspapers no longer qualify their language when using the word “genocide” to refer to the deaths or displacement of Armenians during the reign of the Ottoman Turks.

“Each year (recognition) becomes more of a possibility,” Vartanian said, citing worldwide awareness of genocide in general, brought to the forefront by situations such as the current crisis in Darfur.

The political reality is that should the Genocide Recognition resolution reach the stage of lawmaking, it would likely be vetoed by the current administration (though the resolution itself is a bi-partisan effort).

Against that awareness, Vartanian – who says she is “eternally optimistic” – says there is no need to wait in anticipation of a Democrat in the White House before pushing the issue.

“President Bush has to listen,” Vartanian says. “He has to take into account that this is an issue that just isn’t going away.

In the coming days the Assembly (www.aaainc.org) will be encouraging voters in the US to appeal to their representatives for support of the resolution. Assembly members are seeking support, too, from other communities including the large and influential Jewish Diaspora. Toward that effort, the Jewish Community of Armenia has attached a letter of support to the resolution.

[Joseph]

Action Alert

Whether you're with AAA or ANC or non-aligned, now is the time to come together and encourage family and friends to help out. We'll never end the good fight but now we have a chance to get it done.

-Joseph


----- Original Message -----
From: Assembly <mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 8:44 PM
Subject: ARAMAC ACTION ALERT: A New Genocide Resolution Introduced (H. Res. 106)

?

A New Genocide Resolution Introduced (H. Res. 106)

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Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI), Frank Pallone, Jr.
(D- NJ) (at podium), and George Radanovich (R-CA) at a Capitol Hill press conference on
the Genocide Resolution [from L to R]

This bipartisan effort being led by Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA), George Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), along with Congressmen Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), has already garnered the early support of over 160 cosponsoring Members of Congress.
The new legislation is modeled after the Armenian Genocide Resolution from the last Congress (H. Res. 316) which resoundingly passed the House International Relations Committee, but was not brought to the House floor for a vote. Contact your Representative now and build upon the momentum of the new bill.

If your Member of Congress has not already agreed to cosponsor the resolution (see current list on our Web site), urge him/her to contact the office of Representative Schiff at (202) 225-4176 or Representative Radanovich at (202) 225-4540.



Action #1 Ensure passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution in this Congress!




Action Instructions:



1. Send a letter to your Representative by entering your zip code in the "Contact Congress" box on our Web site at http://www.aaainc.org <http://www.aaainc.org/> and hitting "Go!"



2. Draft your own letter and send it to your Congressman. You can use the Fact Sheet in the "Issues and Information" section of our web site.

Talking Points for H. Res.106
H. Res. 106 represents a significant bi-partisan effort of some 160 Members of Congress to preserve, honor and utilize the proud record of the United States in responding to the first great humanitarian crisis of the 20th Century.
Its intent is clear - utilize the U.S. record to better equip and empower those responsible for our foreign policy to prevent genocide.
As leaders of the Western world and champions of democracy and human rights, it is our moral obligation to set the record straight and the vicious cycle of denial.
The adoption of H. Res. 106 will not only educate others about this dark chapter in history, but will also reaffirm the U.S. Record on the Armenian Genocide.
We must ensure that the legacy of the genocide is remembered so that this human tragedy will not be repeated.
H. Res. 106 affirms an incontestable fact of history amply documented in the U.S. archives - the first genocide of the 20th century in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed because of the their ethnicity by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.
This resolution affirms the U.S. record and to do anything else would establish a dangerous precedent for how history will be recorded with regard to current and future actions of Congress and the Administration in response to man's inhumanity to man.
As a matter of principle and out of respect for those have served our country before us, the United States must not let a foreign government impose its revisionist version of history as a litmus test of its relationship with the United States.
Action #2: Honor the Memory of Hrant Dink!

Urge your Representative to Cosponsor H. Res. 102 introduced by Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY 7th) condemning the assassination of Hrant Dink!

Action Needed:

1. Send a letter to your Representative by entering your zip code in the "Contact Congress" box on our Web Site at http://www.aaainc.org <http://www.aaainc.org/> and clicking on "Go"

2. Draft your own letter and send it to your Congressman. You can use the talking points below, or go to Web Site, as a guide.

Talking Points for H. Res. 102

· Hrant Dink, a journalist and citizen of Turkey, was gunned down outside of his office on Friday, January 19th, 2007 in Istanbul, Turkey.

· Hrant Dink was a fierce defender of the freedom of the press, an outspoken advocate for democratic reform, and a champion of human rights and tolerance. He was a man of conviction and principle who believed in democratic ideals and peaceful change.

· Hrant Dink founded the bilingual Agos weekly newspaper in 1996, to create a bridge to foster dialogue and understanding among Armenians and Turks.

· Hrant Dink was honored by his media colleagues around the world for his courage and principles, and was awarded the prestigious Bjornson Prize for Literature for his publications on the Armenian Genocide.

· We must ensure that this attempt to silence the freedom of the press and to intimidate the Armenian community in Turkey is roundly condemned.

· The United States must respond with a strong stance on the policies of Turkey that deny, intimidate, and criminalize the mere mention of the Armenian Genocide. It was such policies that led to the assassination of Hrant Dink.

· Abolish Article 301 of the Turkish penal code that muzzles the press and encourages denial and creates an atmosphere of intolerance.

· Armenians and other minorities in Turkey must be protected. Instead of laws such as Article 301, Turkey should enact laws that ensure fundamental human and minority rights.

· Sadly, Hrant Dink is now the 1,500,000 + 1 victim of the Armenian Genocide. To prevent future killings, we must act now to end the vicious cycle of genocide denial by affirming the historical truth. In addition to H. Res. 102, the House needs to pass the Schiff-Radanovich-Pallone-Knollenberg resolution (H. Res. 106) whish affirms the Armenian Genocide.

[Hovik]

U.S. entrepreneurs call on George Bush not to recognize Armenian Genocide

Source: PanARMENIAN.Net
URL: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=21257
Date: 26.02.2007 17:00 GMT+04:00


U.S. entrepreneurs call on George Bush not to recognize Armenian Genocide


/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 100 American leading entrepreneurs including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett addressed a letter to President Bush calling on him not to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The letter says, in part, that recognition of the Armenian Genocide may turn out a calamity for the United States and trade relations with Turkey will be damaged badly. Besides, the authors of the letter are convinced that the Genocide recognition will hamper reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, Turkish media reports.

The Armenian Genocide resolution was introduced in the U.S. Congress in January 2007. Its adoption is quite real due to democratic majority. It’s worth mentioning that if passed by the Congress, the resolution cannot be vetoed by the President.

! Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to «PanARMENIAN.Net».

[Joseph]

Source: PanARMENIAN.Net
URL: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=21257
Date: 26.02.2007 17:00 GMT+04:00


U.S. entrepreneurs call on George Bush not to recognize Armenian Genocide


/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 100 American leading entrepreneurs including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett addressed a letter to President Bush calling on him not to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The letter says, in part, that recognition of the Armenian Genocide may turn out a calamity for the United States and trade relations with Turkey will be damaged badly. Besides, the authors of the letter are convinced that the Genocide recognition will hamper reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, Turkish media reports.

The Armenian Genocide resolution was introduced in the U.S. Congress in January 2007. Its adoption is quite real due to democratic majority. It’s worth mentioning that if passed by the Congress, the resolution cannot be vetoed by the President.

! Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to «PanARMENIAN.Net».

Not sure if this is true yet. It was originally posted in an Azeri source only.

[imported_Armine]

PanARMENIAN.Net/calls upon Congress

PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish lawmaker Vahit Erdem, a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, submitted letters to a group of U.S. congressmen over the Armenian Genocide bill discussion, which is introduced in the agenda of U.S. Congress sessions. Turkish Daily News reports that the lawmaker warns the congressmen to avoid risking a major blow to the relationship between Turkey and the United States. Erdem calls upon the U.S. House representatives “not to repeat the same mistake made by some European parliaments in the past.” “The numbers of Armenian casualties mentioned in the genocide bill were largely exaggerated and based solely on Armenian allegations,” Vahit Erdem stated.


What do you think is their a change the Bill will go through this time...

[Hovik]

The Washington Times Prints AHI Letter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Georgia Economou
February 28, 2007 (202) 785-8430
No. 12/2007


The Washington Times Prints AHI Letter to Editor on Editorial “Pelosi’s pandering against Turkey”
Washington, DC- On February 28, 2007, The Washington Times published AHI Executive Director Nick Larigakis’ letter to the editor, on page A18, responding to The Washington Times editorial “Pelosi’s pandering against Turkey.” The text of the letter appears below. Please note that The Washington Times edited out the following text from Nick Larigakis’ letter to the editor, “Doesn’t your own paper have almost on a weekly basis an article by Tulin Daloglu, a Turkish columnist, who writes on Turkey. Is this for the benefit of your readers?”
Remember the Armenians
The editorial "Pelosi's pandering against Turkey" (Feb. 20) includes numerous inaccuracies. For example, the first paragraph incorrectly states that Turkey "is a democracy."
But really, is this all for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to "score some cheap political points and win additional votes," as you claim? Didn't the Democrats win the Congress? Mrs. Pelosi needs to be congratulated for her support of House Resolution 106 calling for the recognition of the Armenian genocide. Does the editorial board of The Washington Times consider it a waste of time to bring attention to an atrocity committed against a people that cries out for justice, if only in the form of recognition?
Failure to acknowledge the Armenian genocide mirrors those nations and individuals who do not acknowledge the Jewish Holocaust. After all, wasn't it Adolf Hitler who said: "Who remembers the Armenians?" The passage of time or political expediency should never be used as proper justification for any country, especially that of the United States, to compromise our democratic values, principles or moral obligations. It's a recipe for future atrocities to occur.
The editorial suggests that support of this resolution would hinder relations with Turkey a NATO ally and "damage our current ability to maintain Turkey's cooperation in stabilizing Iraq ..." What cooperation?
While I'm not privy to any so-called behind the scenes support, it is a fact that Turkey's refusal to provide the use of its territory during the invasion of Iraq is only one example where it has displayed a behavior that is not consistent with that of "an ally of long standing" as the article states. There are many more examples.
Turkey's interests in Iraq are to marginalize the Kurds and to control the oil-rich area of Kirkuk. U.S. interests are to keep peace and stability in a very volatile region.
U.S. interests can best be served by the achieving the goals of genuine democratic freedoms, political stability and economic progress in Turkey. It would be good for Turkey; good for Turkey's neighbors; and good for U.S. interests.
NICK LARIGAKIS
Executive Director
American Hellenic Institute
Washington

[1.5 million]

All manner of blackmail and objections are about to be brought into play...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030401047.html?referrer=emailarticle

The House's Ottoman Agenda

By Jackson Diehl
Monday, March 5, 2007; Page A15

Can a nonbinding congressional resolution really matter? Most are ignored by everyone except the special interests they are usually directed at. Even the House's recent resolution on Iraq was dismissed by both President Bush and Democratic antiwar leader John Murtha. Yet a vote expected next month on a nonbinding House resolution describing a "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1915 has the potential to explode U.S. relations with Turkey, sway the outcome of upcoming Turkish elections and spill over into several other strategic American interests, including Iraq and Iran.

So, yes: The Armenian Genocide Resolution sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff does matter, logically or not. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul spent several days in Washington last month lobbying against it, though the Turkish-American agenda is chockablock with seemingly more important issues. Friends of Turkey in Washington, from American Jewish organizations to foreign policy satraps, are working the Hill; so is the Bush team. On the other side is the well-organized and affluent Armenian American community, 1.4 million strong, and some powerful friends -- including the new House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

Here is a debate that could occur only in Washington -- a bizarre mix of frivolity and moral seriousness, of constituent pandering, far-flung history and front-line foreign policy. And that's just on the American side; in Turkey there is the painful struggle of a deeply nationalist society to come to terms with its past, and in the process become more of the Western democracy it wants to be.

Start with the pandering: Schiff, a Democrat from Los Angeles, cheerfully concedes that there are 70,000 to 80,000 ethnic Armenians in his district, for whom the slaughter of Armenians by the Young Turk regime during World War I is "anything but ancient history." Local politics also explains why a resolution that has failed numerous times in the past 20 years is suddenly looking like a juggernaut: Pelosi, of San Francisco, also has many Armenian supporters.

"There's a sense of momentum now about the resolution that we haven't had before," Schiff told me. "The votes are there in the committee. The votes are there on the floor." If Pelosi allows the resolution to be brought up, as she has reportedly pledged to do, it will probably pass. Its language is almost comically heavy-handed: It begins by declaring that the House "finds" a series of 30 paragraphs of facts about the genocide, ranging from the number killed (1.5 million) to the assertion that "the failure . . . to punish those responsible" helps explain subsequent atrocities, including the Holocaust.

Imagine the 435 members of the House, many of whom still don't know the difference between Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis, solemnly weighing whether Schiff's version of events 92 years ago in northeastern Turkey deserves congressional endorsement. But the consequences of passage could be deadly serious: To begin with, Turkey's powerful military has been hinting that U.S. access to the Incirlik air base, which plays a key role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, could be restricted. Gul warned that a nationalist tidal wave could sweep Turkey and force the government to downgrade its cooperation with the United States, which needs Turkey's help this year to stabilize Iraq and contain Iran. Candidates in upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections could compete in their anti-American reactions.

No wonder the Bush administration as well as even Democratic-leaning foreign policy experts, such as Clinton-era ambassador Mark Parris, are trying to stop the resolution. Yet theirs, too, is a contorted campaign. After all, historians outside of Turkey are pretty much unanimous in agreeing that atrocities against Armenians worthy of the term genocide did occur. Though Congress may look silly with its "findings," the continuing inability of the Turkish political class to come to terms with history, and temper its nationalism, may be the country's single most serious political problem. Prominent Turkish intellectuals, including a Nobel Prize winner, have been prosecuted in recent years under laws criminalizing "insults" to Turkey -- such as accurate accounts of the genocide. In January a prominent ethnic Armenian journalist was murdered by an ultranationalist teenager.

Maybe Congress has no business debating Turkish history, maybe it is doing so for the wrong reasons. Yet if Turkey is to become the stable, Western-oriented democracy that it aspires to be, its politicians will have to learn, at least, to react the way everyone else does to nonbinding House resolutions: that is, with a shrug.

[Hovik]

Don't Go Cold on Turkey

Don't Go Cold on Turkey
By MARK R. PARRIS
March 3, 2007; Page A8

Once again, a resolution has been introduced in the House of Representatives asserting that the forcible deportation and massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 was "genocide." But this time around the resolution, sponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone, Adam Schiff, George Radanovich and Joe Knollenberg (and over 170 co-sponsors), appears likely to pass. The result will be a train wreck with an important, longstanding American ally: Turkey.

It may never be the right time for one nation to pass legislation on another's history or morality, but there could be no worse time than now. It's a particularly sensitive moment in Turkish politics: A new president will be picked by parliament in late April (coinciding with Congress's likely decision on a resolution) and elections for a new parliament will follow by November. Based on current polling, Turkey by year's end could for the first time have a president, government, parliament and most municipalities under the control of a party -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party -- inclined to loosen the strict barriers set up by Ataturk between religion and state. One does not have to share secular fears of AKP's alleged "secret agenda" to Islamicize Turkish society to appreciate the strains this would generate in Turkish political life over the weeks and months ahead. Nor does it take much imagination to realize that, in such circumstances, Turkish politicians will compete with one another, should a resolution be passed, to show they cannot be pushed around by the U.S. Congress.

Turkish domestic politics isn't the only issue, however. This year will highlight the country's pivotal geography and relevance to U.S. strategic goals. As we struggle to find our footing in Iraq, for example, Turkey can either help or make our task much harder. Our forces in Iraq rely heavily on Turkey's Incirlik airbase for resupply. Turkish military intervention in the north, either to pre-empt cross-border terrorism by Turkish Kurdish PKK terrorists, or to stop Kirkuk from becoming part of the Kurdish federation, would complicate Gen. David Petraeus's already daunting assignment.

Then there is Iran. Will Turkey align itself with Washington and the West in efforts to ratchet up pressure against the Islamic Republic -- a major trading partner and ally against the PKK? Or will the Turks join Russia and others favoring a less-confrontational approach? And as the U.S. tries to forge a new alignment in the Middle East to roll back Iranian influence and restart Israeli-Palestinian talks, a Turkey that has both bulked up its influence in the Muslim world (particularly among Sunni Arabs) and kept its close relationship with Israel, will be an asset.

Turkey has quietly emerged as the prize in a new great game over who will develop and bring to world markets the vast oil and gas resources of former Soviet Central Asia. Experts know that Turkey will in the years ahead become one of the world's major energy hubs, supplied by new pipelines that will crisscross Anatolia. The question is whether this will happen according to Moscow's or Washington's vision of where those pipelines should run, and whose product should fill them. Ankara will likely make some of the key decisions this year.

Turkey goes into this defining year with its anchors to the West drifting or under strain. NATO, for decades the bedrock of Turkey's Western identity, particularly for its influential military, has lost luster as its mission has blurred. The European Union's ambivalence toward Turkey since formally beginning the accession process in October 2006 has soured many Turks on the project. Despite laudable garden-tending by senior officials on both sides, U.S.-Turkish relations haven't recovered the depth or breadth they had in the '90s; polls show anti-Americanism remains high in the Turkish "street." The winners have been Turkey's ultranationalists, whose vision of a Turkey that "goes it alone" and increasingly resorts to violence is chilling.

Some will interpret this analysis as realpolitik that simply postpones the moment when Turkey must deal with its pre-Republican history. That ignores the reality that Turks in growing numbers -- among them Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk -- are speaking out in favor of a more candid debate on the events of 1915. Most fear their voices will be drowned out by the tsunami of nationalist outrage that a resolution will generate.

In the past, U.S. congressional leaders have repeatedly bowed to the findings of administrations of both parties that a genocide resolution would adversely affect vital American security interests. Given the equities America now has at stake in and around Turkey, those findings remain as valid as ever.

The U.S. has a lot of hard work to do in Turkey's neighborhood. In some cases, American lives will literally be at stake. Whatever the challenge we face in this troubled region, our success will be far more certain if we can work with Turkey, rather than having to work around it. The responsible choice for Congress's current leadership is to join their predecessors in concluding that passage of an Armenian genocide resolution does not serve American interests.

Mr. Parris, who was U.S. ambassador to Turkey from 1997 to 2000, is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.