Dan Burton: “I may be a voice in the wilderness, but I do not agree with all of my colleagues who have preceded me. Mr. Chairman…”

“I may be a voice in the wilderness, but I do not agree with all of my colleagues who have preceded me. Mr. Chairman, Turkey has been an ally of the United States through thick and thin. In the Persian Gulf war we had our bases in Turkey. During the Persian Gulf war they cut the Iraqi pipeline and hurt their economy dramatically. During the war in Somalia, Turkey sent their troops there to help us. In fact, Turkey has been with us as a NATO ally from day No. 1, day No. 2, day No. 3, day No. 4, but we seem to have a penchant in this Congress of kicking our friends in the teeth and embracing those who are not our friends. Now, let me give my colleagues some facts about Turkey and about the Armenian problem that have not been discussed today. First of all, Turkey recognized Armenia immediately after its independence from the Soviet Union and publicly stated its willingness to establish good neighborly relations with Armenia. Top level Armenian and Turkish officials continue right now discussing bilateral relations. Turkey closed its land border with Armenia only after Armenia escalated the cargo conflict by invading Azerbaijan proper. That is when they closed the border, after they invaded Azerbaijan proper. Currently 20 percent of Azerbaijan is occupied by Armenian forces.”