NEWS: Hey Turkey, Go Fuck Yourself

POLITICS: Hey Turkey, Go Fuck Yourself

It’s not often I tell an entire country to go fuck itself, but it is the only appropriate response given the circumstances. In the early 1900s, Ottoman Turks killed around 1.5 million Armenians. For decades, Armenian Americans have lobbied Congress to pass a measure that would label the killings genocide. On Wednesday, House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the resolution and Turkey lost its shit.

They told their ambassador to the US to return to Turkey and told the US ambassador in Turkey that they were not pleased, warning of “serious repercussions.” What kind of repercussions? Last year, Turkey suspended all military ties with France after parliament’s lower house passed a similar bill.

An aide to the Turkish Prime Minister said today the country could "cut logistical support to the U.S." The US has an air base in southern Turkey that many troops travel through on their way in and out of Iraq. The US also relies on Turkey to get supplies to troops, with 70% of US air cargo going through Iraq. The White House claims it will cost lives if Turkey cuts off logistical support. Of course, the White House isn’t exactly whom one should listen to in regards to saving lives.

The Bush administration is now desperately trying to stop Democrats from putting the measure to a full vote in the House. The White House is concerned because Turkey has recently been threatening to invade northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels. Kurdistan is the only place in Iraq where things are going well. Or they were.

The cute thing is they have labeled the Kurdish rebels, "terrorists." Good luck arguing with that, George. Just last week Turkish planes and helicopters attacked Kurdish rebels near the border. The Democrats timing is obviously odd, considering the tensions on the Iraq-Turkey border, but they have a great explanation for inflaming an already delicate situation.

Oh. Well, that’s not really a good answer. I guess we should just be happy you are taking a stand somewhere, because you’re not doing here in the US. Might was well do something that will lead to the death of thousands upon thousands of Kurds.

But to be fair, Turkey is going to attack the Kurds in northern Iraq at some point regardless, so we may as well get it going now. Better to have the shit storm all at once instead of spreading it out over years.

If Turkey does take the actions they have threatened and use the vote as a reason to attack Iraq, then we should pass another resolution declaring them the "biggest fucking babies of all time." Seriously, did someone call you a bad name? Go cry in your fucking olive oil.

I would like to know more about the ramifications of this being officially labeled genocide.
What does that mean and to whom ? Are there real repercussions now that Turkey would face for this atrocity nearly 100 years ago being labeled ? Why the fuck are they so up in arms about it ?

Germany should go over there and be like, "yeah, you know what? Try 60 years ago instead of a hundred. But we fucking deal with it!"
That'd be cool. Or something.

One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. Let's see now, do we betray our Kurdish "friends," the ones who are keeping northern Iraq stable for us, the same as we did after the Gulf War? Do we end up going to war against Turkey instead of Iran? Both? How many wars can we afford to prosecute without reinstating the Draft?

As a Greek, I can totally agree with the title of this article 100%.

I thought this was a Thanksgiving article.

No, seriously, the Turks are only making themselves look more ridiculous by defending or covering up what happened.

My impression from everything I've seen and read on the measure is that it has no practical ramifications and will result in no repercussions - that it's just a symbolic gesture.

As for why they're pissed, it strains relations with Turkey at a time when they're already feeling rebuffed and insulted by the West in general (having difficulties with their bid for EU membership) and it embarrasses them with respect to their Armenian neighbors. It's also seen as patronizing, as some outside country - a longtime ally with its own history of genocide, no less -criticizing them out of turn. It's easy to paint that - rightly or wrongly - as part of America's larger hostility to Islam itself, even in its most liberal havens.

I went out with a girl once who was half-amermenian. She ended up being a bit nuts, sadly, but one thing I remember about her is that she had a huge vendetta against the Turks. Knowing the history of the region, I could never really blame her; if I'd been Armenian I'd most likely hate Turkey with ounce of my being.
Anyway, although I question the Democrat's timing on this; I can't say that I'm horrified. Its about damn time that someone at least acknowledged what the Turks did, all those years ago. And if the Turkish government throws a temper tantrum; well, maybe they can just grow up and own up to their own past mistakes.

There are no real ramifications of this, except if it is viewed as such on a worldwide basis it would open up Turkey to attempts at legal action. Mainly they don't want to be labeled the same way as Nazis. Of course that is more or less what the Young Turks were in a lot of ways.
The fact of the matter is that some people think we don't need Turkey anymore. They are our major airbase/staging area in the region, but now we have huge bases in Iraq. Also this could be a revenge of sorts for them electing a more Islamic party in the last elections.
If they invade Iraq, it could cause serious NATO issues since they are the member with the second largest military and they have a rather legitimate reason, since there have been attacks in Eastern Turkey by Kurdish separatists. That isn't to say that I don't think they Kurds ought to have their own state, just that Turkey is pissed with reason, even if it makes them kind of the bad guys.
They are also at the end of a ten year modernization of their military, which they've bought almost entirely from us. So, not a good time to attempt to fight them, since we are already tired of being in the war we are in. Also, they have decent relations with Iran.
The Kurds are kind of screwing themselves (and dragging us along with them) since they are supporting rebels both in Iran and Turkey.
Overall a great resolution, probably a really bad bad time for it though.

Jesus, if it were that easy, do you think half the shit going on over there would be happening???

I think the killings in the early 1900's should be labelled genocide, as that's what they were, but I hope it doesn't end up causing a large amount of extra bloodshed - that would seem to defeat the point althogether.

Perhaps now would be a could time for every country to have a look at every other country and then point out the ones that were, at any time in history, genocidal. I think most countries are guilty of it at some point. Even the ones that aren't countries anymore.

Times like this, I wonder how much nicer we'd all be to each other if we'd never invented borders...

Freakin wild Turkeys. How many people have to die at the behest of a nation in order to earn the genocide label? Anyways, maybe Pelosi thinks she might have a round about way of putting a nail in the coffin of the war?

There is a long an complex history of the US;s refusal to publically acknowledge the extermination of the Armenians in Turkey. It is based almost entirely on the preception of the US that it needed to maintain good relations with Turkey (and before it, the Ottoman empire.) It is a little know fact that the US refused to declare war on the Ottoman Empire in WWI (in part to protect enclaves of Christian missionaries in the region.) and in so doing, set in to motion the chain of events that ended in the creation of Iraq and our current troubles there.

Like most of the countries in the Middle East, the present boundaries of Turkey were created by Western powers out of the remnants of the Ottoman empire, and so all of the boundary disputes are, in essence false. In particular, the plight of the Kurds who were left without a country, despite having a tradtiion as long and storied as the Turks and the Armenians, who always made up a significant minority in the Ottoman empire, but had a unfortunate tendency to be Christian, are, in large part, the responsibility of the West.

Correcting those problems after all these years is justified, but will cost the US that which it sought to maintain all along: a stable and friendly power in the Middle East.

Interesting times.

Oh, I'm really not that niave; I was only saying what SHOULD happen. You know, if world leaders were mature, responsible individuals and such.
On the other hand, you do sometimes have to make a principled stand on issues. The Armenian massacre was a genocide, and one which has recieved very little attention around the world; it was Adolf Hitler who said, when others expressed worry about his policy towards the Jews, "Who today speaks of the Armenians?"
Hopefuly, as said, Turkey will resist the urge to throw a temper tantrum and no further bloodshed will come from this (although, they may use it as an excuse to go into Northern Iraq; however, I'm pretty sure that that was going to happen anyway; one way or another)

Just sounds like more work for me. Fun.

Turkey's parliament should just reciprocate with a bill declaring the original US expansion a genocide against Native Americans. Quid pro quo. We air their dirty laundry, they dig up ours.

What'll we do, bomb Turkish expatriates in Vancouver?

Before saying an entire nation to go fuck itself, remember that not all the nation's nationals are made the same - would the American pacifists like being invited to fuck yourself for Bush's wars around the world? Or French for the atomic experiments? Or Italians for the Berlusconisms?
There's dissent in Turkey too, and Turkish dissenters are being imprisoned and tortured for protesting against the Armenian (and Kurdish) genocides. And they're Turkish too - I think they deserve our respect for being Turkish and bearing what their government is doing to them - so I'm still against being against an entire nation as a whole.

You may have to forgive our excessively sarcastic American sense of humor here.

My ex-wife's grandfather survived the Armenian Holocaust and was unfortunate enough to watch his father and older brothers beheaded by Turks. Considering how much cotton products come from Turkey, any idea how hard it was to shop for stuff with her?
Fuck the Turks.

QFT

As an Armenian I really appreciate the article and can't ever get over how much of babies the turkish government is being over this.

This sounds like the best idea to me. This is really a non issue. Too bad those in power in Turkey don't seem to agree.

I think the analysis of this measure is correct - it is a symbolic gesture.

A symbolic gesture by the Democrats that will piss off Turkey. If the Turks follow through on their threats, Americans in uniform will have their lives placed in even greater danger.

The constant refrain we have heard from the left is, "We support the troops but we don't support the war." Well, let's take that at face value. This symbolic gesture - over events that are over 100 years in the past - has the potential of increasing the burden that our troops must shoulder and places them in greater danger of being killed. So please reconcile the rhetoric with the vote taken on the House floor.

I don't think there are any animals larger than banana slugs that are hermaphrodites.

Hyenas have huge clitorises, though.