U.S.-Turkish Relations Strained Over Iraq and Armenian Genocide

[kenosis]

U.S.-Turkish relations are in an extremely delicate phase. A member of NATO, Turkey is a key U.S. ally on whom Washington depends for logistical support in the Middle East and as a bridge to the Muslim world. Earlier this week Turkey’s parliament voted to authorize cross-border military operations into Iraq against the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK

Comments

[eukarya]

Call me over-sensitive and politically correct, but I consider the use of scare quotes for the word genocide in the headline to be offensive. My late grandmother remembered the headlines from old papers when she learned about it in school.

[kenosis]

I agree; I think the evidence is out there that it happened.

[kenosis]

That being said, I think it's a pretty boneheaded time for the American government to call Turkey on it.

[thorny_rose]

Bureaucracy working at lightning fast speeds! :D

[kenosis]

:) I have two big questions on this one:

1) Why does the American government feel they need to define what a political event was? That's, imho, the duty of historians and the people and governments categorically have vested interests in taking sides that exalt the position of the government.

2) Why do this right now, in the middle of the war in Iraq?