Adam Schiff: “today, in the Committee on International Relations a remarkable thing happened. Not one but two resolutions recognizing…”

“today, in the Committee on International Relations a remarkable thing happened. Not one but two resolutions recognizing the facts of the Armenian genocide passed out of the committee with strong bipartisan support, indeed with the support of both the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member. One of those resolutions I introduced to recognize the first genocide of the 20th century, the genocide which claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children. The facts of that genocide are clear. The facts of genocide are incontrovertible. They are bourne out in thousands of pages of documents in our own archives. They are bourne out in the words and the transmitted telegrams of our Ambassador, Henry Morgenthau, at the time. The only obstacle that the Congress has faced, and it has been a formidable one, in recognizing the Armenian genocide is the resistance of the Republic of Turkey, the well-documented efforts of its powerful lobbyist, and the feeling of some that, by recognizing what all historians have recognized, that we will somehow jeopardize our relations with an ally. {time} 1800 I have never taken issue with the fact that Turkey is an ally to the United States. It is an ally. It is at a strategic crossroads. It is an important member of NATO.…”