Turkey, the Armenians, and Congress

There is little doubt in my mind that what happened in Turkey during WWI with the Armenian population is most accurately defined as a genocide. But does it take an act of Congress for something to be a genocide?

The U.S. is woefully short of allies in the Middle East. So why is it that our Congress seems determined to anger one of the few we have. As of today, in apparent response to a bill defining the Armenian genocide as a genocide passing the House Committee on Foreign Affairs 27-21, Turkey has recalled its ambassador. What does Congress think it is going to accomplish by doing this? Why open up an old wound?

Of course, one could argue that the Turkish government is itself being unreasonable about this: what happened in WWI happened under a different government, etc. But it was still Turks who did it, the fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers of those living. If we want to be optomistic about it, perhaps they feel ashamed of what they did, and aren't particularly in the mood to be shamed by the U.S. -- someone they thought was an ally.

To some degree governments have to be pragmatic when dealing with other governments. Why pass a law or resolution whose only purpose seems to be to insult the Turkish government? I suppose Congress wants to estrange another Middle Eastern country -- one who I would guess is showing a lot of restraint regarding the Kurds in Iraq at the present time and who may not feel like they should bother to do so or otherwise help us out in Iraq any more.

The timing of this is suspect. Are those who want us to be defeated in Iraq really this sneaky about undermining our efforts in Iraq? The only reason for this will to defeat is because of who is President. Does anyone really think anything like this, or the arguments that we cannot win in Iraq (whether you like it or not, we are in there now, and we had better decide we're going to win it), will continue if a Democrat is elected?

And BTW, anyone who thinks the Iraqi war will end if a Democrat is elected has not been listening to what most of them have been saying. Clinton has openly said she would not pull the troops out. The only candidate who has said he would withdraw the troops has been a Republican, Ron Paul.