Have you been following the recent development in regards to the Genocide of Armenians during the Great War? If not here is a good place to start. I am lucky as I belong to a mailing list with some of my more learned friends and they have been passing links back and forth for a couple of days in regard to this issue.

Seeing the links in the emails, watching the CNN and catching the occasional NPR story. It began to sink in as to what all of this could mean for the US and the war on terror. To tell you the truth I was a bit shocked and confused? It didn’t really start to settle into my mind until today when talking with one of my clients about the whole situation. I should let you know that he is a hard line Republican who will back the Pres till he is out of office. Don’t hold it against him though, he is a great guy and a big thinker. He just happens to be on the other side of the isle. He is always up for a good debate and continues to help me see the other side of this crazy world. So we started in.

His point is simple and one that I had read late last night. Pelosi cant get enough votes to end the war in Iraq any which way you slice it. She knows that Turkey is the key to the whole region. More than half of all our supplies to fight the war go through Turkey. See where this is going. If you can some how piss off one of our oldest Allies, by I don’t know saying something like; they committed genocide on over a million people. (which by the way it turns out they did) This might give you the chance you have been seeking. Turkey is not to hot about being blamed for something another regime carried out some 90 years ago. This has always been a sticking point with Turkey and we have always known that calling it genocide would be a deal breaker. He went on and on but I think you get the picture.

So, do we really want to get out of Iraq that bad. Is it worth starting a bigger fight with an old friend to stop another fight with a new one? (new friend could be debated) Or is it just simply politics. Yes, I know everything is politics. This is no different. I guess if I were thinking about this in terms of Democratic strategy, it is brilliant! Talk about forcing the hand of the Republicans. Not only that but at this point the ball is moving so fast. Combine the genocide call and Turkey’s eagerness to wipe out the Kurds in Northern Iraq and you can smell the disaster all around you. If Turkey and the US are no longer friends, you can bet your butt Turkey will get rid of those nasty Kurds in the north tomorrow. If that were to happen where would that leave us? Would we have to go to the defense of the Kurds? Fight the Turks?

Genocide is serious and there is no doubt that Turkey wiped 1.5 million Armenians of the planet in the those war years and after. It was documented and written about at the time in which it was happening. Does this mean we should officially call it genocide? Yes, but if we declare this now on the Turks does that mean we will pass a resolution calling genocide, genocide in the other parts of the world were it is happening now? If we do this and Turkey cuts off all access to their country and breaks diplomatic ties. What then will happen to the region we are keeping stable. Will this one act of political maneuvering bring down everything we have worked for in the region. Will this declaration of genocide bring forth more death, unrest, upheaval and finally genocide. Is this what we are after? Is this worth the end of the war in Iraq? Is this what the Democrats think it will take to win the Presidency in 08. A huge gamble if you ask me. With way to much to lose.