Who's the real Turkey

So, the Turkish ambassador to the US was called back. And?

The US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs brought HR 106 to the floor last week, a resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide of World War I in the US official record - I love that this is what our leaders are preoccupied with. The resolution was met with a great deal of hostility and concern from a military perspective. ( Read Rep. Skelton's Letter to Speaker Pelosi on the matter ) Some in Congress feared backlash from the Turkish government and the effects that it might have on the US ability to use air and land space in Turkey.

Presently the US has one military outpost within Turkey. Incirlik Air Force Base is a fully equipped base, complete with the coffee shops, movie theater, basketball court, public park, hotel and of course the golf course. Don't believe it? Check out the pics posted on the base website.

IN reaction, the US embassador to Turkey was called home. Turkish citizens protested. Government officials took supercilious stances on the issue.

"Yesterday some in Congress wanted to play hardball," said Egemen Bagis, foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I can assure you Turkey knows how to play hardball." (CNN.com)

And, of course, the American media lapped it up.
Take a look through the glitz and glamour of the story though.

There was a holocaust in Turkey during WWI. The Turks know it, it must have been hard to miss. The Armenian's certianly know it. But why rub it in the face of the Turks right now? Is it really that essential that it goes down in the record books? Especially with the other issues we have facing this country right now... say, i don't know, the war. A rapidly slowing economy. Allocations, people. Let's talk allocations.

For once, I agree with the Bush Administration. The Associated Press reports that a White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel, meanwhile, reiterated that the vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee approving the resolution would be problematic for American efforts in the Middle East.

"While the House is debating the Ottoman Empire, they are not moving forward with appropriations bills," said Stanzel. "The House has not appointed conferees, they aren't coming to the table to discuss children's health care, and they haven't permanently closed the intelligence gap that will open up when the Protect America Act expires."