Pelosi Loses Support For Armenia Resolution
Democrat Nancy Pelosi is considered to be the highest ranking member in the U.S. Congress – but many people are now worried that her position is something that is too much for her to handle. Things went downhill for Pelosi after she fumbled an Armenian genocide resolution.
Pelosi, 67, speaker of the House of Representatives and next in line to the presidency after the vice president, swore she would push the controversial resolution to a vote, then blinked when some fellow Democrats withdrew their support in the face of furious reaction from Turkey. President George W. Bush warned the symbolic resolution to affirm the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide would harm Washington’s relations with Ankara. But as long as it looked like it would pass, Pelosi stuck to her guns.
When Democratic support started waning last week amid protests from NATO ally Turkey – which denounced the measure as “insulting” and hinted at halting logistical support for the U.S. war effort in Iraq – Pelosi wavered. Critics say she grossly miscalculated. “It’s certainly not her finest moment,” said Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “There’s been no great harm done, but we do have to find some ways to mend the U.S.-Turkish relationship.”
Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed in World War One, but denies they were victims of a systematic genocide. Pelosi took office amid much fanfare 10 months ago. She proposed “a new direction” for America and vowed to challenge Bush on a host of fronts, including the Iraq war. Her stumble on the Armenia resolution gave Republican critics more ammunition.
They called the bill another “irresponsible” or “dangerous” foreign policy gambit by Pelosi, who flew to Syria last spring when the White House was not on speaking terms with Damascus. Pelosi also has tried for months without success to defy Bush’s policy on Iraq with legislation forcing a withdrawal of U.S. troops. Even some of Pelosi’s closest allies, like Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, say she misjudged the Armenian resolution. Murtha, who opposes the measure on the grounds the United States doesn’t have any “damn allies” and therefore needs to keep Turkey on its side, counted up to 60 Democratic votes against it and said it would fail if brought up.