[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12016-12017]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MITCH KEHETIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2002

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate an articulate 
and well-respected voice in local journalism, Mitch Kehetian, as he is 
honored by the Metro Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional 
Journalists with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
  Mr. Kehetian has served the public for almost fifty years as a 
reporter and editor of community newspapers. In his early twenties he 
went to work as a reporter for the Detroit Times. He brought his 
reporting skills to Macomb County, Michigan at the Mount Clemens 
Monitor-Leader. The Monitor-Leader became the Macomb Daily and Mr. 
Kehetian rose through the ranks to his current position as Editorial 
Page Editor.
  Mr. Kehetian's work can be summarized with three words: community, 
responsibility, and passion. He has editorialized about the widest 
range of issues, always using his straightforward, commonsense approach 
to make a clear and concise point. He has written about a variety of 
local issues, from weighing in on a controversial community issue, to 
honoring a young person or community activist. He has written about 
regional issues always paying special attention to the future of the 
City of Detroit, about issues impacting our entire State and vital 
national issues including domestic policy, politics and international 
affairs. He has opined passionately about human rights, highlighting 
the plight of the Iraqi people under Saddam Hussein, the children of 
Afghanistan, the conflict in the Middle East, and the longstanding 
refusal by Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
  In his work, especially the latter editorials, you can see an image 
of Mitch Kehetian himself On April 29, 2002, Mr. Kehetian wrote, 
``Through the years, I've written reports about my journey to 
historical, Turkish-occupied Armenia in search of my Armenian roots. I 
found that the homeland of my ancestors lacks historical markers to 
tell the curious that for 3,000 years Armenians lived in what today is 
eastern Turkey. Through the years I've been repeatedly asked why people 
of Armenian heritage can't forget what happened in 1915-20, especially 
those of my generation who weren't even born then. I cannot forget. As 
a child growing up in southwest Detroit's ethnic neighborhood, I had 
only one grandparent, one aunt, three uncles and a handful of cousins. 
All the others were murdered in the Turkish genocide of the Armenian 
people. . . . This American of Armenian heritage cannot forget.''
  Mr. Speaker, I have enjoyed the opportunity to work in the same 
communities as Mitch Kehetian and to observe his work. He has been a 
voice for elevating the role of Macomb County and its place in the 
State of Michigan. Today, I join the residents of Macomb County, and 
his colleagues in the journalism profession, in saluting his 
distinguished career, thanking him for his years of service, and 
encouraging him to keep those editorials coming.

[[Page 12017]]



                  TURKEY NATO AND AFGHAN PEACEKEEPING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2002

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, last week, the command of the 
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan was 
handed over to Turkish military forces after a successful six months, 
under the command of British forces.
  As the Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee, I want to first 
congratulate and commend the British forces for the excellent work they 
did to establish an atmosphere of calm and security at the critical 
time in which the people of Afghanistan were consolidating their 
political and economic future. The Brits are owed a great deal of 
thanks.
  The arrival of the Turkish command marks a new period for the ISAF 
operation, for the new government of Afghanistan and for Turkey itself. 
The leadership of Turkey, a predominately Muslim state sends a clear 
message that the international campaign against terrorism does not have 
anything to do with Islam as a religion and reinforces the effort we 
have been trying to make that the United States has Muslim allies in 
this effort. For Turkey, taking command of ISAF is an acknowledgment of 
Turkey's important position in that region and the role it can play in 
the Muslim world. It is also a signal of the important prestige Turkey 
has accumulated both here in the United States and in the West. The 
government in Ankara should be commended for its willingness to take on 
this critically important role. We congratulate Turkey and wish their 
military contingent the best of success.
  Finally, I would be remiss if I did not point out for commendation 
all of the other nations whose military forces are currently serving in 
Afghanistan. ISAF does have some 5,000 troops serving in Afghanistan 
and they all deserve our thanks and continued support. I think it is 
also important to note that the majority of the nineteen countries who 
have contributed forces to ISAF are not only European, but are from our 
NATO partners or NATO candidate countries. I believe this is an 
important point that is often overlooked by those who have criticized 
Alliances such as NATO for not being willing or capable of conducting 
missions abroad. The Afghanistan campaign was not a NATO mission but 
the fact that so many of our NATO partners have sent troops there is a 
testament to the importance of the Alliance and why we in this country 
should continue to strongly support NATO. Consider where we would be 
today if NATO was no longer relevant to our security needs. Whose 5,000 
troops would be patrolling the streets of Kabul and ensuring the 
peaceful transition of that country.
  So, again we salute the British forces for a job well done. We 
congratulate and welcome the Turkish leadership of ISAF and we thank 
our NATO allies and European friends for their continued support in 
Afghanistan and in the campaign against global terror.

                          ____________________