Denial American Style

The politicos are at it again. American congressmen are demonstrating their ignorance and bigotry in one fell swoop. There is a movement in the Democratic Party that feels a need to condemn was has been called the Armenian Genocide.

This an extension of the European movement to exclude Turkey from the European Union. France went at it earlier, and I wrote an entry on the French denial of their history while attempting to make Modern Turkey the culprit for events that occurred under the rule of the Young Turks and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

The Armenian Genocide refers to policies primarily developed by Enver Pasha, Talat Pasha, and Cemal Pasha around 1915. The Ottoman Empire was crumbling, and violence was breaking out in many areas. The self named Great Powers (better named meddling fools) used every pretext to bully the weakened empire and force territory concessions as well as special treatment for Christians in the Empire.

Germany involved itself with the military in Turkey and convinced Enver to take the Central side during World War I. Enver decided that at least two groups, Armenians and Assyrians, were a threat and initiated mass deportations to arid areas of the Empire. At least hundreds of thousands; perhaps over a million died during the forced marches.

These Young Turks also carried out the slaughter of young males in the military who were either Armenian or Assyrian. Enver inadvertently killed many more Turkish soldiers with his ineptitude.

The atrocities were not unique, and the atrocities by the Greek army during Greece’s invasion of Turkey after World War I is worthy of attention.

But, the United States has its own genocides and atrocities to address. It is best to clean ones own house before demanding others do so. We have been very poor in publicizing and addressing sordid eras in our own past.

The Philippines Atrocities certainly rise to the level of genocide. After the War with Spain, the US decided to keep the Philippines as a possession. Partly this was in imitation of the European practice of forcing countries to become colonies for the business of business exploitation, But American capitalism was certainly a driving force.

President McKinley used the pretext of Christianizing the populace as an excuse for forcible occupation. Well over a million Filipinos were killed in this Christian act. This included those already Christians, but the American commanders could not tell a Christian from a non‑Christian.

General Jacob Smith ordered the murder of anyone ten and older on the island of Samar after locals armed only with bolos killed fifty‑four American occupation troops. He was punished for his brutality though. He received a written reprimand and was forced into retirement. A newspaper cartoon showed American soldiers executing children with the caption the crime of these children was to be born ten years before the invasion and occupation of the Philippines by the United States.

After the killing of over six hundred Moro family members in 1905, President Roosevelt issued congratulations for this great victory. After it was discovered that these were families that had been massacred, the military claimed that the great number of children killed was due to their being used as human shields or that the children were dressed in uniforms. There were no survivors in this action.

Since then, we have passed laws allowing the forced sterilization of people based on poorness. We have involved minorities in experimentation without their knowledge. We are presently engaged in a great campaign to fill our jails and prisons with poor young men.

The action by Democrats is clearly one that is born of bigotry and denial. Turkey is a modern democracy. This country is no longer the Young Turks, Sultan, and Caliph. That was a different country.

Turkey is a country were the shade of skin color is darker than the average Democrat. The predominate religion is different, and I suspect this is a major drive behind the recent behavior. Plus, the language is different.

Perhaps inclusion of the Algerian genocide by the French would reflect a spirit of inclusiveness. And while at it, give England its credit due for the pioneering work in concentration camps and biracial genocide during the Boer wars.

Not to mention the Palestinian dispersal of people forced to leave their lands, homes, and heritage at the point of zionist guns.The Israeli influence has been also to support the rise of the butcher Idi Amin in Uganda, and complicity in the 1982 Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp massacres. And, the repeated attempts by Israel to destroy Beirut (most recently in 1996 and 2006) rise to the level of genocide, although with a capitalist flavor.

The United States is still the same country as the one that perpetrated the Indian massacres and the mass murder in the Philippines. The excuse behind these actions was the need to Christianize. The sterilization of the poor had no such excuse and was legal because legislators believed that to poor would inherit the earth.

Genocide as a crime was not recognized until the Nurnberg trials after World War II. These were trials that were claimed to send a message to stop future behavior.

Since then, there has been the Cambodian genocide/fratricide (nudged into place by US military policy). The eastern Europe massacres, Timor, Somalia, Rwanda; and the list goes on.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D ‑ CA) remains adamant about bashing the Turks. She appears certain that her message will influence the long gone Sultan and Caliph.

But, the real issue is that Pelosi and her fellow henchmen continue to display their inherent bigotry of those who are different. They deny our own troubling past and present, by pointing their soiled fingers far away and long ago. Democrats are unwilling to be honest by recognizing American sponsored atrocities.

If Pelosi and her Democratic cohorts, wish to avoid their journey into bigotry, I suggest they name all the players in this bloody behavior. That includes, the United States, France, Britain, and Israel.

It is better to spend taxpayers money and energy to pay attention to the foreign genocides occurring now rather that a century ago. And perhaps it is good take a little time to reflect about the failure of the avowed mission of the Nurnberg trials. Of course, we need to recognize the bigotry is alive and well in the form of Democrats in the House of Representatives.