April 1, 2009 - 18:11 AMT
A major think tank calls on President Obama not to use the word Genocide
A major think tank calls on President Obama not to recognize the killings of Armenians as 'genocide.' 'If Obama uses the word Genocide, the Turkish response will be harsh and trigger a bitter breach in relations,' the CSIS says.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a major and bipartisan think tank in the United States capital, Monday called on President Barack Obama not to recognize World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser for former President Jimmy Carter, and Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser for former Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush, jointly introduced the CSIS report at a meeting.
"If President Obama takes no action to prevent congressional enactment of the (Armenian) resolution (pending in the House of Representatives), endorses the measure, or uses the word Genocide himself, the Turkish response will be harsh and trigger a bitter breach in relations," the CSIS said.
It said the United States, "rather than seek to legislate history," should encourage and support rapprochement that Turkey and Armenia are trying to accomplish.