In a long-overdue move, today a Congressional panel approved a measure which labels the massacre of Armenian civilians by the military forces of the Ottoman Empire as “genocide.” Proposals to apply this term to the atrocity committed nearly a century ago have been punted down the line from one Congress to the next for many years now. The wholesale massacre of civilians by a military force is inexcusable under any circumstances, and the fact that it has taken Congress this long to call the act by its true name is shameful and sad.

More shameful is the last-minute effort by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to convince the panel not to even vote on the measure for fear of offending Turkey. Would Clinton have urged the Nuremburg Commission not to accuse the Nazis of genocide for fear of offending Germany?
Another country’s touchy sensitivities must never be a consideration when one is making a statement of true facts. The people of Turkey need to finally accept that the military of their grandparents’ generation committed war crimes, atrocities, and crimes against humanity. In my view, until Turkey accepts this fact, they remain under suspicion of condoning the atrocity.
In Section 3.3.2 of the book, entitled “Apologize for Historical Crimes Against Humanity,” I argue:

When genocidal acts and war crimes have been committed historically, they must be acknowledged, as a warning to all the world of the paths which we must not tread. … Admitting our past mistakes will enable us to be a better world in the future.

The specific example I cite in this particular section of the book is closer to home: the genocide of Native Americans committed by white settlers over the course of hundreds of years, a long-term crime against humanity which included the military slaughter of civilians, forced relocation to concentration camps, and biological warfare. However there are unacknowledged historical atrocities which have occurred in many other areas of the world, including the Armenian genocide committed by Turkish troops during World War I, and the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers against Korean and Chinese civilians during World War II. In order for our global society to move forward, we must acknowledge the terrible actions of our ancestors, we must resolve that such acts will never be perpetrated again, and we must structure our global system of governance to protect civilians the world over.
Despite the shockingly slim margin by which today’s resolution passed, I applaud Congress for passing the measure labeling the massacre of Armenian civilians “genocide.” I applaud this Congressional panel for standing up to the irrelevant concerns of the State Department. I applaud Congress for growing a pair. I hope they will take this newfound courage and charge forward with it. Maybe Congress will even use its newfound balls to enact meaningful health care reform legislation.