Turkey, Armenia Move Toward Diplomatic Ties

Campaign feud gets in the way of foreign policy

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton visited Armenia last week, trying to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh disagreement and resolve the country's dispute with Turkey over the massacres of 1915. “You’ve got to salute Hillary,” writes Roger Cohen of the New York Times . “It’s a heck of a job being secretary of state when the White House puts a tight collar around the big issues — Afghanistan, Iran, Israel-Palestine and Iraq — and you’re left with Nagorno-Karabakh.” More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama addressed the Turkish parliament today, and used the opportunity to extend an olive branch to the Muslim world, the New York Times reports. “The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam,” said Obama. “America’s relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not just be based on opposition to al-Qaeda.” More»

Resolution calls Turkey killings 'genocide'

(NEWSER) - A House committee today approved a resolution calling World War I-era killings of Armenians by the Turkish government "genocide," despite warnings from the White House and an intense lobbying effort by Turkey. The resolution is largely symbolic, the New York Times reported, but its passage by the full House could have broad consequences reaching as far as Iraq. More»

Latest tragedy plays into Taliban hands, experts fear

(NEWSER) - Afghan families are vowing vengeance for loved ones killed when an American soldier apparently went on a rampage, shooting at least 16 civilians dead, including nine children . "All my family is dead," Nazim Shah told the Independent. "We will get revenge on those who killed my family. We won't let this rest." Afghan officials are urging restraint as an investigation continues, but grief-stricken residents of the Panjwai district where the shootings occurred and their countrymen are seething with fury after the soldier shot men, women, and children, then piled up their bodies and set them aflame, according to reports. A stunned President Obama has apologized to Hamid Karzai for the " tragic and shocking " killings. More»

Turkey expected to withdraw ambassador

(NEWSER) - If you are in France and deny that Turkey committed "genocide" against 1.5 million Armenians in 1915-1916, be prepared to be fined $57,000 and spend a year in jail. Actually, the new legislation applies to genocide denial in general, but it is the law's application to the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey nearly 100 years ago that has Turkey furious—and Armenia elated, of course—reports the BBC . More»