And a Happy Monday to all. Harry Reid has said all is lost, so it is time to take it down a notch, get in the wrong frame of mind for the work week, be prepared to do your least and worst, or at least your bare minimum.
Remember that saying? Going it alone? A leftacrat meme, denoting that 40+ countries working with us in Iraq was going it alone. Sure, most of the countries had few troops to offer, but, then, most of them didn’t have a large military for their small countries. Well, the Defeatocrats had a committee vote last week designed to make sure they ticked off a long time ally who allows us to use their bases for the war on terror, and now
House Democratic leaders say they will insist on a floor vote on a resolution calling the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks "genocide," despite Turkish leaders saying it will seriously hurt relations and Republican warnings that the measure is "the most irresponsible" action Congress can take.
"This resolution is one that is consistent with what our government has always said about what … happened at that time," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday on ABC’s "This Week."
And it will accomplish what, exactly, Nancy? Condemning something that happened damn near a century ago, which no Congress has done before, will not help our relations with Turkey. Why not go a step further, and condemn Britain for the War of 1812? Or the Soviet Union for murdering 20 million of their country? Oh, wait, I forgot, liberals love the old Soviet Union.
But yesterday, Turkey’s military chief said the committee’s action last week had already harmed U.S. ties with Turkey, which grants the U.S. use of its airspace and bases in its country to help fight the war in Iraq.
"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," Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told the daily Milliyet newspaper. "I’m the military chief; I deal with security issues. I’m not a politician. [But] in this regard, the U.S. shot its own foot."
The issue is highly sensitive in Turkey, where it is a crime to describe the Armenian killings as genocide. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the U.S. after the committee vote and has threatened further retaliation.
Turkey is a key ally, one with a good sized Muslim population which has not been able to become radicalized, particularly due to the Turkish government not falling into the trap that other countries have fallen in to with their Muslim populations. Turkey is an ally we need. Maybe the Democrats could pass a resolution condemning the United Nations for looking away from the Rwandan genocide, or themselves for the defeat they caused in Vietnam, leading to the Killing Fields of Cambodia.
The top House Republican said the resolution "may be the most irresponsible thing I’ve seen this new Congress do this year."
Don’t worry, Mr. Boehner, they still have more time left, perhaps passing a resolution against Israel, Britain, or Christmas. Besides, most of their other legislation this year is simply for show and to "make a point" in an attempt to gain political power. Pushing a key ally away from the USA is perfect for the Democrats. And the average Turk is not going to know what the Democrats are really attempting, which is to cause George Bush more problems in fighting the war on terror, particularly in Iraq.
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