Wendy Sherman: “American honor demands that we end our complicity in genocide denial. Four arguments are made against this resolution…”

“American honor demands that we end our complicity in genocide denial. Four arguments are made against this resolution: The first is that it is not true. No one can even make that argument anymore. 1.5 million Armenians and countless Syrians, Greeks, and others massacred by the Ottoman Government. Second, they argue that Turkey is such a great ally that we should turn a blind eye to what happened last century. Earlier this month, Turkish forces shelled both to the left and to the right of American military bases. American soldiers fled in unseemly haste. What a great ally Turkey is. Then we were told: Well, the Foreign Affairs Committee hasn't had hearings. We have had countless hearings on this for decades, including, also, a 4-hour markup where we passed it through the committee, and the only argument made on the other side there was Turkey was such a great ally. Well, last week, we had hearings in our committee that demonstrate that Turkey is not such a great ally of the United States. And, finally, we were told--and this is insulting, I think--during the rules debate by someone arguing against the rule that it is not worth our time: 1.5 million dead. The fact is that genocide denial is the last act of a genocide. First, you obliterate a people; then you obliterate their memory; and, finally, you seek to obliterate the memory of the obliteration. And, also, genocide denial is the first step in the next genocide.…”