[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 155 (Monday, October 15, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H11535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
             IN OPPOSITION TO RESOLUTION REGARDING ARMENIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I want to come to the floor of the House 
tonight and add my voice to a lot of my colleagues in opposition to the 
dangerous resolution condemning Turkey for reported atrocities against 
the Armenian people. Everyone regrets what happened at the end of the 
First World War; but, Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of a very 
complicated war, a complicated war in which every ally is valuable to 
our war effort.
  This resolution, Mr. Speaker, this resolution has the potential to 
inflict damage on the United States-Turkish relationship such that it 
would be very difficult to repair it, and this should be at the 
forefront of our minds as we consider bringing to the floor for a vote.
  I am concerned about this resolution, and I urge the Speaker not to 
allow these actions.
  I am asking us to consider the long-lasting negative effects that 
this resolution could have on our foreign policy interests. The last 
thing we need is for an American ally to stray from the path of victory 
in Iraq, and with President Abdullah Gul threatening to withdraw 
Turkey's support of the Iraq war should we vote on and pass this risky 
resolution, this possibility unfortunately is moving ever closer to 
reality.
  Mr. Speaker, Turkey continues to be a consistent U.S. partner in 
developing some of the crucial defense equipment we're going to need to 
protect our country into the future. Currently, Turkey is aiding in the 
development of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning fighter. I can testify 
to the significant importance of sustaining positive relations with 
Turkey, because the final assemblage of the aforementioned aircraft 
will, in fact, take place at Lockheed Martin's Ft. Worth plant which is 
very near my district in North Texas. These are important developments 
in the war on terror and now is not the time to compromise these 
efforts.
  But more importantly, Mr. Speaker, this resolution, this resolution 
is ill timed and ill suited for a country at war. What will happen to 
the transport of goods, fuel, food, fiber through Turkey into northern 
Iraq?
  And if those shipments, if those shipments of food, fuel and fiber 
are delayed or ended by the Turks, who wins and who loses?
  Mr. Speaker, I will submit that the average American probably doesn't 
know the answer to that question. It's not that they're indifferent, 
but they just don't know if there's going to be a winner or a loser. 
The average Turk, while he may care, is really just pretty mad about it 
all.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I would submit it is the Iraqi citizen who is on 
our side who will lose. They will be denied sustenance. They will be 
denied food for their family. They will be denied fuel to heat their 
homes in the coming winter in the northern part of Iraq, in a country 
that has been ravaged by war.
  Well, if Iraqis who are friendly to us are likely to be hurt, what 
about the enemy in Iraq? Well, Mr. Speaker, they may be the indirect 
winner because after all, we know they love chaos; and anything that 
increases disorder in Iraq's fragile social system benefits our enemy.
  Mr. Speaker, I am not connecting dots that have not already been 
connected. Right as we left before the August recess the majority whip 
was quoted as saying if things go well in Iraq, it's bad for us; it's 
bad for our majority party.
  Mr. Speaker, sadly, then we've seen several times during the month of 
September where it does seem like sometimes they're invested in defeat.
  But who really bears the brunt is the United States soldier. And, Mr. 
Speaker, this is not just a theoretical concern. October 2000, same 
bill, conflicts are a little bit different. Northern watch, keeping the 
Iraqis from attacking the Kurds. Those planes in northern Iraq to 
enforce the no-fly zone and keep Saddam from attacking the Kurds, those 
F-16s flew out of Turkey and they kept watch every day of every week 
during what we now know as Northern Watch. They kept the Iraqi 
Republican Guard in a box and kept them from attacking Kurds.
  Mr. Speaker, I was not in Congress in October of 2000. But I will 
tell you that a young man who is now a constituent, actually stationed 
in Clovis, New Mexico, but was moved to Incurlik, Turkey, and was on 
duty then, he talked to me back in October of 2000. He said, we were 
away from home in a place that really was awfully strange for a 21-
year-old. And then we picked up our newspapers one morning and there's 
a big hole in the side of a United States ship, the USS Cole which was 
bombed in October of 2000. The tension was mounting daily. Other 
attacks were a possibility. And then all hell broke loose outside the 
base. There was protests, there was shouting, there were people yelling 
at us at the gate. None of us were allowed off the base. And why? 
Because the House of Representatives was going to take up the Armenian 
genocide resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, this constituent was my son. He asked me then, Dad, why 
is Congress making things tougher for us over here? I didn't have an 
answer for him now and I don't have an answer for him now. President 
Clinton did not support this bill in 2000. Majority Leader Armey 
refused to allow it to come to the floor. Don't make life tougher for 
our soldiers. We're a country at war. Let's act like it for once.

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