In a couple of months, when my former home of Turkey is exploding with rage and anti-Americanism, and every friend of America in that country looks like a sucker after we’ve accused them of genocide in order to make friends with 1.5 million Armenians and made enemies of 80 million Turks, we can all say as one…
“Nice going, Nancy Pelosi. Keep telling us how we’re the unsophisticated unilateralists who don’t know how to get along with foreign cultures.”
More from Jackson Diehl, who I think is too gentle on those pushing the resolution on the Armenian Genocide. (And now that I’m on this side of the Atlantic, I don’t have to use the “so-called” prefix.)
Look, I understand commemorating the genocide and pointing the finger at Turkey is a very high priority to Armenian-Americans. But in terms of vital U.S. interests, fighting the battle over the correct interpretation of events of nearly a century ago is about 10,345th on the list. Our tasks in Iraq, and dealing with Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and fighting extremist interpretations of Islam will be much, much easier with Turkey as an ally on these issues instead of an enemy. And the Turks’ sensitivity on this issue is hard for most Americans to imagine. Imagine the passions of the Vietnam war, the Confederate flag, the treatment of Native Americans, and the internment of Japanese-Americans all rolled into one, and you have a sense of the touchiness of this issue in Turkish life.
If this resolution passes the House, the U.S. can expect no cooperation from the Turks for anywhere from three to five years. Are you paying attention, Hillary? Obama? Are you prepared to enter the Oval Office and lead a war on terror without our closest Muslim ally?
By the way, Pelosi, Queen of Diplomatic Sensitivity, refused to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul when he visited Washington recently. Way to go, Nancy. Keep teaching us all how to get along with our allies.