Your Republican Party, Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, the House Foreign Relations Committee passed (by a vote of 23-22) a non-binding resolution classifying as "genocide" the Turkish massacre of over one million Armenians during World War I. While I agree that we need to call a spade a spade in this circumstance, I'm also sympathetic to Obama's protestations on the timing of the resolution, as the administration has made progress in reconciling relations between Turkey and Armenia (one of those little diplomatic successes of the administration that get drowned out by health care and other domestic issues). Basically, I agree with committee chairman Howard Berman that this probably won't affect U.S.-Turkey relations, but at the same time, I think Clinton and Obama are more than reasonable in their concern for their efforts on Turkey-Armenia relations.

However, Republicans were opposed to the measure (shocking, I know), and in their opposition, they once again revealed their true colors:

Republican Congressman Dan Burton opposed the resolution, pointing out that a U.S. Air Force base in Turkey is vital to American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Knowing that we may have to take some kind of military action down the road against maybe even Iran, we need to have as many friends in that part of the world as possible," said Dan Burton. [my emphasis]

Aside from the risible fact that Republicans are suddenly worried about having "friends" in that part of the world, there's the standout issue of who we might go to war with. That's right - Republicans still have war on Iran on their agenda. It couldn't be any clearer here. The inclusion of "maybe even Iran" is about as subtle as saying "that's a nice car you got there-it'd be a shame if something were to happen to it..."

Of course, this is the party that continues to obstruct just about every bit of legislation, every diplomat, every appointee, that the Obama administration is putting forth. Helping 1.1 million Americans get their unemployment benefits extended for 30 days? Can't happen. Helping millions of Americans gain access to health care? Socialism! Spending money on another war that would send the United States even further into debt and result in the deaths of thousands upon thousands?

That's just the Republican way!

Israel and Genocide

Gershom Gorenberg's article at TAPPED, "The Israeli Government's Genocide Politics" accurately sums up the hypocrisy of Israel's policy toward Darfur refugees and the Armenian genocide. While Gorenberg's ignores Israel's own policies toward the Palestinians, he turns a white hot lamp on the failure of Israel to embrace Darfur's refugees and to go along with Turkey's continued denial of their 1915 massacre of Armenians.

Is it too much to ask of Israel to have them stand in as a leader of world human rights given the conditions leading to the founding of the country? I would say no, but perhaps I am asking too much of a vulnerable nation surrounded by enemies. However, as Gorenberg points out, "The underlying issue is that, pragmatically, Israel can claim it must protect its interests, even if that means indulging an ally ashamed of its history. It can argue that refugees pose a security threat. It can reject refugees in order to maintain its ethnic balance. But if it does those things, it has no grounds to speak about Western countries who turned away Jews in 1938."

Absolutely. What Israel can't do is have it both ways. They can't act as cold-hearted as the rest of the world to suffering while forcing everyone else to remember what happened to the Jewish people in the 1930s and 1940s. That is rank hypocrisy. Personally, I think we do need to remember the Jewish Holocaust all the time. But we also need to remember the Armenians, the Native Americans, Darfur, Australian aborigines, and other peoples who the world has failed.

Only Jews Can Suffer Genocide

In a related story to Israel deporting refugees from Darfur, the Anti Defamation League fired its New England regional director. Why? He insisted that the ADL recognize that Turkey committed genocide against the Armenians in 1915. This is an obvious fact, yet the ADL does not want to admit it because it could hurt Israeli-Turkish relations.

This is sad on so many levels. It's insane that a Jewish human rights organization in the United States would take stands based upon what they perceive to be Israel's policy interests. It's depressing that so many wonderful Jewish people, both in Israel and the US, have their voices suppressed when they publicize the obvious connections between the Jewish experience and that of other oppressed minorities. And it's unconscionable that the ADL would deny that Turkey committed genocide. It's really hard to respect the ADL at this point.

Really terrible stuff. But not surprising in the least.

Via Rob