Turkey condemns US 'genocide' vote

Turkey has recalled its ambassador from the US and condemned a Washington panel's move to declare the killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces in the first world war a "genocide".

"We condemn this resolution which accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it has not committed," Ankara said in a statement on Thursday.

"Following this development, our ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, was recalled to Ankara for consultations."

The announcement came minutes after the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee passed a non-binding measure in a 23-22 vote on Thursday, calling on the Obama administration to ensure US policy formally refers to the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide.

The vote, which enables the resolution to be sent to the full House for approval, came despite pressure from the White House and Turkey, a long-time Nato ally.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, told the chairman of the committee, Howard Berman, on Wednesday that "further congressional action could impede progress on normalisation of relations" between Turkey and Armenia, according to a spokesman.

But Berman, in his opening remarks at the committee's hearing on Thursday, while calling Turkey a "vital and, in most respects, a loyal ally of the United States in a volatile region", said "nothing justifies Turkey's turning a blind eye to the reality of the Armenian genocide".

'Untimely' vote

Suat Kinik-lioglu, a member of parliament from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development party, told Al Jazeera that the vote was "very untimely".

He said it was not for foreign legislators to judge on the "very complicated history of World War I", especially "when this country is a strong ally, works closely with the United States and there is an ongoing reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia".

"Turkey works very closely with the US on Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, global terrorism, Middle East peace process, Syria-Israel talks," he pointed out.

Saying he did not see the recalling of Turkey's ambassador to the US as merely a symbolic gesture in a drama that would soon blow over, he said:

"This is being watched very carefully, there is high sensitivity towards this. Turks feel badly treated by only seeing one version of the events of 1915.

"I think the Americans would feel that same if we were to pass a resolution in our parliament talking about the treatment of [native] Indians in this country."

Ankara said the outcome of the US panel's vote demonstrated "a lack of strategic vision" among US legislators at a time when Turkey and the US "are working together on a broad common agenda".

"We are seriously concerned that this bill... will harm Turkish-US relations and impede efforts aimed at normalising Turkish-Armenian ties," it added.

Abdullah Gul, Turkey's president, said the resolution had "no value in the eyes of the Turkish people" and warned that it would deal a blow on fledgling efforts to end decades of hostility between Turkey and Armenia.

"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative ramifications that this vote may have in every field," he said.

White House spokesman Mike Hammer said Barack Obama, the US president, had spoken to Gul on the phone on Wednesday to express his appreciation for Turkey's efforts to normalise ties with Armenia.

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper said Gul had urged his US counterpart to use his influence to block the resolution.

Obama had pledged to call the Armenian killings genocide during his election campaign in 2008.

The US president has said that while he has not changed his personal views, he does not want to upset promising talks between Turkey and Armenia on improving relations and opening their border which Turkey sealed in 1993 to protest against Armenia's war with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Complicating ties

Al Jazeera's senior Washington correspondent, Rob Reynolds, said Thursday's vote could complicate relations between the US and Turkey because Ankara is an important ally.

"First of all, it's a highway through which the US supplies its troops in Iraq.

"For another, it's been involved often as a broker for Middle East peace agreements and of course it's a Nato ally and it has troops in the US-led Nato coalition in Afghanistan."

Huseyin Bagci, a political analyst in Ankara, told Al Jazeera that the US decision would have implications on Turkey's domestic and foreign policies.

"President Obama, if he's going to speak the word genocide on April 24, then probably Turkish-American relations will go into a very difficult phase," he said, referring to the date recognised by many Armenians across the world as Genocide Awareness Day.

"After this, the anti-American feelings in Turkey will increase, the Turkish nationalism will also get strengthened and the government is going to face certain reactions inside domestic politics."

Ankara also recalled its envoy from Washington in 2007 when the same committee passed a similar genocide measure.

But George Bush, the then US president, stopped the resolution from going to the full House, wary that Ankara would block US access to a Turkish air base essential to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Armenian groups in the US have for decades sought congressional affirmation of the 1915 killings as genocide.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed under the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey, around the time of the first world war.

Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying 300,000-500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what was a civil war when Armenians rose up for independence and sided with invading Russian troops.

After decades of hostility, Turkey and Armenia signed a deal in October to establish diplomatic relations and open their border.

But the process has hit the rocks, with Ankara accusing Yerevan of trying to tweak the terms of the deal and Armenia charging that Turkey is not committed to ratifying the accord.

Muslim Prayer Opens Congress

The silence in the great hall of the Congress was deafening as imam Abdullah Antepli started delivering the opening prayer for the House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 3.

"Asalam alaikum… peace be with you," Antepli, the Muslim chaplain at Duke University, told the attendees who stood and bowed their heads in respect.

"O God of all nations, look with favor upon this esteemed Congress. Guard these important decision-makers with your divine light," he said.

"Be the source of strength and comfort. Enable them to serve you and glorify your names by serving the citizens of this great nation and to the entire humanity regardless of their gender, ethnicity or religion."

This was only the third time a Muslim religious leader was invited to deliver the opening prayers of the Congress since the tradition began in 1789 with the first Continental Congress.

"It was such a humbling moment," Antepli, who joined Duke University as its first ever Muslim chaplain in 2008, told IslamOnline.net.

He believes that inviting him to deliver the Congress opening prayer sends a message at a time Muslims and Islam are at the center of attention in America.

"The news that a Muslim imam is delivering opening prayer for the Congress came as a breath of fresh air," says Antepli.

"It lifted some of the burden off the hearts and minds of many Muslims who have been wounded by post 9/11 realities in the US."

Though there are no official figures, America is estimated to be home to nearly 7-8 million Muslims.

Many believe they have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights since 9/11 attacks.

Proud

Congressman David Price of North Carolina praised Antepli, the founder and executive board member of the Muslim Chaplains Association and a member of the National Association of College and University Chaplains.

"Throughout his two years as Muslim chaplain in Duke University he has done great achievements in terms of spreading understanding and diversity," he told the session.

"It is a great honor to have him here delivering the opening prayer."

The Congress hall was full of members of the Muslim community and leaders of Muslim organizations who came to attend the prayer delivered by Antepli.

Aisha Yasin says she was thrilled to know a Muslim is going to give the prayer this time.

"It is quite amazing," she told IOL correspondent who attended the ceremony.

"It is a great feeling to have a Muslim imam delivering such tradition deeply rooted in the American history."

Dr. Mohamed El Sanousi, director of community outreach and communications for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), was equally impressed.

"It is very significant for the community to have this sense of pride to feel included in the society," he told IOL.

"It gives a message that despite all that is happening, and what is written in the media about Muslims, still there is hope," said the community leader.

"Muslims are part of the fabric of the American society and will not be ignored."

Military Guides US Foreign Policy: Mullen

Replacing diplomacy, the military is dominating the US foreign policy, America’s top military officer has admitted, reported The Christian Science Monitor on Thursday, March 4.

“US foreign policy is still too dominated by the military, too dependent upon the generals and admirals who lead our major overseas commands and not enough on the State Department,” Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the S Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a speech at Kansas State University.

Mullen said that the US military is a vital tool of national power.

"It's one thing to be able and willing to serve as emergency responders, quite another to always have to be fire chief," he said.

“(But it) should never be the only tool.”

Mullen echoed a similar warning by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that a "creeping militarization" was moving to take over the US foreign policy.

US President Barack Obama already called last year for balancing the military’s role with diplomacy.

"My fear, quite frankly, is that we aren't moving fast enough in this regard," Mullen lamented.

Under the former administration of George W. Bush, the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq as part of its so-called “war on terror”.

Almost nine years after Afghanistan’s invasion, the US is still engaged in a deadly fighting with resilient Taliban.

In Iraq, the US is mulling to delay its scheduled troop withdrawal over political turmoil stemming from a controversial disqualification of hundreds of candidates over alleged links to Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party.

“Soft Power”

Mullen warned that the increasing dependence on the military force harms America’s global influence.

“We should expect to see that influence diminish over time," he said.

America’s relations with the Muslim world have soared over the Afghan and Iraq wars.

Since coming to the Oval Office, Obama has promised to improve relations with the Muslim world.

Mullen urged the US administration to rely more on diplomacy and “soft power” other than the military force.

"We ought to make it a pre-condition of committing our troops -- that we will do so only if and when the other instruments of national power are ready to engage as well."

Mullen laid out three "principles" that he said should govern the use of the military.

He said the military should not be the last resort of the state but should be complemented by vigorous diplomacy and other civilian efforts.

Military force should be used in "a precise and principled way" to protect innocent lives, he said.

The top military officer also said that policy-making cannot be separated from military strategy and debate among civilian and military leaders should be encouraged.

Four Jailed for Foiled German 9-11

A court in the city of Duesseldorf on Thursday, March 4, jailed for Muslims over what is being described as a 9/11-styled attacks against US military and civilian targets in Germany.

"You were planning a monstrous bloodbath that would have killed an unfathomable number of people," Judge Ottmar Breidling said at the conclusion of the 10-month trial.

The court convicted the men of belonging to a foreign terrorist organisation and sentenced them to between five and 12 years in jail.

Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, both German converts, each received a 12-year jail term.

Adem Yilmaz, a Turkish citizen, got 11 years while Atilla Selek, a German of Turkish origin, was given five years for a supporting role in the plot.

Schneider was also convicted of attempted murder for grabbing the handgun from a police officer while being captured and firing off a shot. No one was wounded.

After the biggest criminal surveillance operation in post-war Germany, police using US and German intelligence caught three of the suspects red-handed, mixing chemicals to make some 410 kilograms of explosives.

The fourth suspect, Selek, was arrested soon after in Turkey.

Proposed targets included pubs and nightclubs in several German cities frequented by Americans as well as US airbases and diplomatic facilities.

Prosecutors said the suspects wanted to kill Americans, but also punish Germany for its military involvement in Afghanistan.

Germany has more than 4,000 troops in the war-ravaged country serving under NATO command.

Germany's 9/11

The prosecutor said the four had plotted to carry out "an extraordinarily dangerous and sweeping attack plot" with visions of "mounting a second September 11, 2001".

"If the accused had managed to do what they planned, it would have led to a monstrous bloodbath, primarily among US army personnel and also civilians."

They had explosives 100 times the amount used in the 2005 London bombings that killed more than 50 people, prosecutors said.

Judge Breidling described the terror plot as the biggest in Germany's post-war history.

"You were blinded by a strange, hate-filled notion of jihad and you turned yourselves into angels of death in the name of Islam."

The so-called Sauerland cell, named after the region where three were captured, admitted membership in a terrorist organisation, plotting murder and conspiring for an explosives attack.

The group said it was acting on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Union, a militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda that is believed to have set up training camps along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

But Gelowicz, Schneider and Selek had renounced extremism and described their actions as a "mistake".