No good time to condone genocide

By Weekly Archive On Oct 23, 2007

In
August 1939, Hitler gave a military order to exterminate the Jews.
His goal was "the physical destruction of the enemy." And
they should be sent to their death, he stated, "mercilessly and
without compassion." Then Hitler added: "Who, after all,
speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Those
chilling words alone are sufficient reason for characterizing the
slaughter of Armenians as genocide — and condemning it as such.

And
make no mistake, that’s what it was. During World War I, the leaders
of the Ottoman Empire, while siding with the Central Powers against
Allied Forces, ordered the deportation and massacre of anywhere from
500,000 to 1.5 million Armenians. Like Hitler several decades later,
their goal was the deliberate, systematic elimination of an entire
population.

For
President Teddy Roosevelt, it was "the greatest crime of the
war." Winston Churchill called it an "administrative
holocaust." Twenty-two nations so far have labeled it genocide.
Indeed, how could it be considered anything but? Yet the Bush
administration opposes a congressional resolution condemning the
Armenian genocide and a divided Congress refuses to act.

Why?
Because, they argue, the timing isn’t right. And besides, we can’t
upset the Turkish government, our important ally in Iraq. What a
moral cop-out.

The
timing isn’t right? That’s ridiculous. Please, tell me: When is it a
bad time to condemn genocide? And when is it a good time to condone
it? In Turkey, it’s actually against the law even to mention the
Armenian genocide. Last year’s Nobel Prize winner, Orhan Pamuk, faced
criminal prosecution just for writing, "A million Armenians died
in these lands." Now we’ve let the Turks muzzle us, too.

As
the example of Hitler proves, the problem with remaining silent is
that every time genocide happens and we turn our heads the other way,
some other evil leader is encouraged to commit the same atrocities —
believing he, too, can get away with it. We looked the other way in
Rwanda, and look what’s happening now in Darfur.

In
the end, there’s only one reason we wouldn’t declare the mass murder
of Armenians to be genocide: because modern-day Turkey doesn’t want
us to. In retaliation, they might kick us out of Incirlik Air Base or
shut down the supply routes to U.S. forces in Iraq. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice even warns that offending Turkey might "harm
American troops in the field."

Did
anyone ask her how? It’s hard to imagine how our taking a stand
against mass murder could possibly harm our troops in the field. As
for possible Turkish retaliation, the truth is that Turkey wouldn’t
dare sabotage our conduct of the war in Iraq for one simple reason:
If everything blows up, neighboring Turkey would be the first country
to suffer.

And
besides, Turkey doth protest too much. Nobody’s blaming today’s
leaders for what happened. Condemning genocide conducted by their
grandfathers is no more serious than condemning slavery practiced by
our great-grandfathers. But when Turkey demands that we abandon our
values and condone mass killing as the price for their cooperation in
Iraq, we should draw the line. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, torturing
prisoners. And now genocide, too? That’s too high a price to pay.
Better to lose the war than lose our soul.

The
irony, of course, is that while weak-kneed members of Congress balk
at offending Turkey, they did not hesitate to offend China by
awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The only difference is that Turkey hired better lobbyists. How much
more honorable it would have been to ignore criticism and do the
right thing in both cases: condemn genocide and honor the Dalai Lama.

In
the end, the battle over the Armenian genocide transcends politics.
It’s a classic moral dilemma. There’s no doubt that genocide
occurred. There’s no doubt that the right thing to do is to condemn
it. And there’s no doubt we will upset the Turks if we do.

Our
choice is clear: Do the right thing, or bend over for the Turks.
Sadly, it looks like we’re about to bend over.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "How
the Republicans Stole Religion."
His email address is: bill@billpress.com. His Web site is:
www.billpress.com.