This Is Not Showing Morale Leadership. This Is Showing An Understanding Of Realpolitik

Once Again, President Obama Breaks Promise to Call Armenian Genocide 'Genocide' -- ABC News

President Obama today again broke his promise to use the word “genocide” when describing the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians at the beginning of the last century.

“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed,” the president said in a statement today commemorating the genocide but not using the g-word. “It is in all of our interest to see the achievement a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts.”

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My Comment: Armenia is a small and poor country, Turkey is a large a vital partner in confronting Iran and playing a key role in European missile defense. For President Obama .... the choice is clear.

Remembering The Armenian Genocide

Obama Marks Genocide Without Saying the Word -- New York Times

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — President Obama, who as a candidate vowed to use the term genocide to describe the Ottoman slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians nearly a century ago, once again declined to do so on Saturday as he marked the anniversary of the start of the killings.

Trying to navigate one of the more emotionally fraught foreign policy challenges, Mr. Obama issued a statement from his weekend getaway here commemorating the victims of the mass killings but tried to avoid alienating Turkey, a NATO ally, which adamantly rejects the genocide label.

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More News On The Armenian Genocide Anniversary

Obama cites `devastating chapter' in Armenia past -- AP
Obama again stops short of calling slaughter of Armenians a genocide -- L.A. Times
Obama cites `devastating chapter' in Armenia past -- AP
Obama calls 1915 Armenia massacre an atrocity -- Reuters
Armenia marks 'genocide' -- News24
Armenians Mourn World War I-era Killings -- Voice of America
Armenians mark mass killings -- Al Jazeera
Armenians mark WWI killings, ties with neighbors fray -- Washington Post
In pictures: Armenia killings anniversary -- BBC

Blowback On The U.S. Congressional Vote On The Armenian Genocide

Turkey Says U.S. Genocide Vote Endangers Caucasus Peace -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Turkey said on Friday chances of its parliament ratifying peace protocols with Armenia were jeopardized by a U.S. congressional panel vote that labeled as "genocide" the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Turkey and its fellow Muslim ally, Azerbaijan, saw the U.S. vote undermining efforts to stabilize the South Caucasus, a volatile region with pipelines taking oil and gas to the West.

"This decision will not bring peace to the Caucasus," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference hours after Turkey recalled its ambassador from Washington.

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Ottoman soldiers pose in front of hanged Armenians in Alep in 1915.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

More News On The U.S. Congressional Vote On the Armenian Genocide

Media ask: What next for genocide vote? -- BBC
Turkey warns US over Armenian genocide vote -- AP
Turkey Criticizes House Committee Vote on Armenian Killings -- New York Times
US Genocide Vote Riles Turkey -- Voice of America
Armenian resolution angers Ankara -- UPI
Azerbaijan: US 'genocide' vote hurts stability -- Ynet News
Armenians welcome US ruling on 'forgotten' genocide -- The Guardian
House Panel Says Armenian Deaths Were Genocide -- New York Times
No plans for House to vote on Armenian genocide resolution, aide says -- Washington Post
Q&A: Turkey and the Armenian 'genocide' -- CNN
Background: the US Turkey-Armenia 'genocide' ruling -- The Guardian
Who dropped the ball on Armenia resolution? -- Politico
It's that Time of Year Again: Remembering that No-One Remembers the Armenians -- The Atlantic

U.S. Congress Passes Recognition Of Armenian Genocide

Presiden Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Turkey. US President Barack Obama is committed to opening a “new chapter in American engagement” with the Muslim world, using Turkey as conduit. Photo: AAP

Turkish Anger At US Armenian 'Genocide' Vote -- BBC

Turkey has reacted angrily to a US congressional panel's resolution describing as genocide killings of Armenians in World War I.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had been accused of a crime it did not commit, adding the resolution would harm Turkish-US relations.

Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations and says it is considering other responses.

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More News On The US Armenian 'Genocide' Vote

Armenian Genocide Resolution Passes US Congress Committee -- Voice of America
House panel approves Armenian genocide resolution -- AP
House committee narrowly passes recognition of Armenian genocide -- L.A. Times
Genocide Vote Riles Turkey -- Wall Street Journal
Turkey recalls ambassador after US resolution on 'Armenian genocide' -- Christian Science Monitor
Turkey Recalls Envoy to U.S. Over House Committee Genocide Vote -- Business Week/Bloomberg
Turkey recalls Ambassador after US vote on Armenia 'genocide' -- Times Online
White House Rebuffed In Effort to Kill Vote on House Bill Recognizing Armenian Genocide By Turks -- ABC News
Turkey vs. Armenia and Why it Matters to President Obama -- FOX News
But Who Needs Allies?: Congress poisons U.S.-Turkey relations. -- Wall Street Journal opinion

US Congress Decides To Revisit The Armenian Genocide ..... Again

Inside the Genocide monument. Photo from Armeniapedia

Turkey, on Edge, Watches U.S. Vote On Armenia -- Wall Street journal

Washington's Shift on Armenian Genocide Debate Angers Ankara.

ISTANBUL—A U.S. congressional vote on how to define the 1915 slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, expected Thursday, is turning into a game of brinksmanship between the White House and Ankara.

In previous years, Congress has attempted to pass a resolution to recognize the Armenian events as genocide. Such a resolution would inflame Turkey and has brought vows from past U.S. administrations that they would block the bill, a nod to Turkey's role as a key ally of Washington in the Middle East.

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More News On The US Congress And The Armenian Genocide

Turkey seeks to avert genocide vote in US Congress -- AP
House panel may revive Armenian genocide resolution -- L.A. Times
As Armenian genocide resolution moves toward vote, support is tenuous -- Miami Herald
Ankara watching U.S. measure on Armenia -- UPI
US Congressional Panel Considers Armenian Genocide Resolution -- Voice of America
Obama in a bind over Armenian genocide vote -- AP
Congressional opponents spar over 'genocide' resolution -- Examiner
The Armenian genocide resolution is a farce all around -- Henri J. Barkey, Washington Post

Thousands Of Armenians Mourn WWI Mass Killings

Armenians gather to mark the 94th anniversary of the mass killing of the Armenian people, at a monument in Yerevan, Friday, April 24, 2009. Armenians accuse the Turks of genocide in the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as part of a campaign to force them out of eastern Turkey. (AP Photo/ Mkhtar Khachatryan/Photolure)

From Yahoo News/AP:

YEREVAN, Armenia – Tens of thousands of Armenians marched through the capital on Friday to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the start of mass killings by Ottoman Turks, many calling on Turkey to recognize the slayings as genocide.

Armenia and Turkey said Thursday they are close to restoring full relations and reopening their border after 15 years. But neither side has indicated how they might resolve the dispute over the killings.

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Update: Obama won't use 'genocide' in statement on massacre of Armenians -- L.A. Times

My Comment: This is going to hang over the heads of both Armenia and Turkey for centuries. The sooner that they can at least start talking about it ..... the sooner that they can then move on.