George Bush and the Armenian Genocide

Two days ago, I lauded George Bush for having the courage to meet publicly with the Dalai Lama. Today I am embarassed to note that the American Congress has succumbed to the pressure exerted upon it by the Bush White House by refusing to recognize the Armenian Genocide. I am not an expert on the topic of the Armenian Genocide. What I have read however is that "approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Turks during World War 1" (source: Tom Segev, Haaretz.com, Thurs. Oct. 18). Wikipedida notes that 22 countries including Canada have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. It also reports that Elie Wiesel Foundation  for Humanity "produced a letter signed by 53 Nobel Laureates reaffirming the Genocide Scholars's conclusion that the 1915 killings of Armenians constituted genocide."  There is a lot of other material on the internet about the Armenian Genocide. There is widespread consensus on the topic  -  there was an Armenian Genocide.  So why did George Bush not do the right thing and allow Congress to approve a bill  that recognized the Armenian Genocide which had been passed by its own House Committee on Foreign Affairs? And why did Congress not snub its nose at Bush and pass it despite his disapproval? The obvious answer of course is that Bush and the Congress did not want to offend Turkey and lose its support in the war against terror. It was however prepared to offend China who is needed even more by the U.S. in its battle against the terror state Iran.  This is indeed curious and even perverse. The lesson in all this is of course quite simple. "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to  deceive".  Contrary to the views of some, "symbolic" gestures are important.  Principles above politics.. especially when the principle is so profound. We are not talking here about a compromise on a tax treaty, a trade-off on a bill to support pork producers if someone supports your wheat farmers. We are talking about the killing of 1.5 million people. Recognizing genocide for what it is will not bring the dead back. But it will do justice to their memory and let others know that there will be no negotiating or compromising on the issue. Shame on Bush and shame on the US Congress.  They really dropped the ball on this one.