[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 27880]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   AFFIRMATION OF THE UNITED STATES RECORD ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 
                               RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 22, 2007

  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I have noted in recent days that some of 
my colleagues have asked to have their names removed from the list of 
those cosponsoring House Resolution 106. I have not asked to be removed 
as a cosponsor because I still strongly support the goals of the 
Resolution, and believe that it is important to acknowledge the 
atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire 
do indeed constitute genocide.
  While I support the message of the Resolution, I have recently signed 
a letter asking that it not be brought to the House floor at this time. 
While the Armenian genocide is a tragic part of history, in the present 
there are American soldiers fighting and dying in Iraq. Regrettably, 
Turkey has responded to this Resolution with threats that would 
endanger the safety of those soldiers and make it more difficult for us 
to quickly and safely bring our troops home.
  I know that my friends in the Armenian community have worked very 
hard over the years on behalf of this Resolution, and I know that they 
will be disappointed if its passage is delayed. However, they will be 
no more disappointed than I am about the fact that more than four years 
after the President launched his misguided war in Iraq, our troops are 
still in harm's way.

                          ____________________