Posted On: 05/19/2016 6:16:49 PM
Post# of 65629
Secretaries of State rarely determine/make foreign policy.
This is the more benign take on the change in Clinton's position on the issue:
This is the more benign take on the change in Clinton's position on the issue:
Quote:
There's a widespread belief that U.S. presidents from both parties have avoided the use of the word because they don't want to upset Turkey -- a geopolitically significant ally of the United States and a key member of the NATO military alliance.
The U.S.-Turkish relationship has been tense in recent years, partly because of the Erdogan government's increasingly authoritarian bent, as well as due to differences in how to approach the Syrian crisis.
Using a stronger term such as "genocide" might disrupt Turkey's efforts in the fight against ISIS around such issues as the use of the Incirlik Air Base, cooperation on border control and the refugee crisis, as well as arming and funding anti-ISIS rebels.
On April 22, 2016, Obama released a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day. And as he has in the past, he used phrases such as "mass atrocity" and "tragedy," but he did not use the word "genocide." Here are excerpts:
"Today we solemnly reflect on the first mass atrocity of the 20th century -- the Armenian Meds Yeghern -- when one and a half million Armenian people were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman empire. …
"As we look from the past to the future, we continue to underscore the importance of historical remembrance as a tool of prevention, as we call for a full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts, which would serve the interests of all concerned.
I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed. I have also seen that peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a foundation for a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past.
We continue to welcome the expression of views by those who have sought to shed new light into the darkness of the past, from Turkish and Armenian historians to Pope Francis.
"Today we stand with the Armenian people throughout the world in recalling the horror of the Meds Yeghern and reaffirm our ongoing commitment to a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Armenia."
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