Bombing in Boston

CounterPunch

Bombing in Boston
Abe Foxman's Genocide Denial Road Show
By JOHN WALSH

It seemed innocuous enough at first. Watertown, a suburb of Boston,
sported a sign on the Town Hall, proclaiming the town a participant in
an anti-bigotry program "No Place for Hate." But one of the good
citizens of Watertown with libertarian inclinations objected that the
sign seemed like some kind of PC thought control. His objections set in
motion investigations by the town mothers and fathers into the
program. Lo and behold, it was sponsored by Abe Foman's Jewish
Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

In itself this sponsorship might not be a problem, unless you are a
Muslim, an Arab or a Palestinian and know full well the ADL's
positions on bigotry. But there are over 8000 Armenian-Americans in
Watertown, and the ADL has long denied that the Turkish massacre of 1.5
million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 amounted to genocide. Turkey is of
course an ally and arms purchaser of Israel's, but the denial antedates
this alliance. A good friend of mine, an Israeli expatriate, tells me
that when he went to school in Israel, mention of the Armenian
genocide was verboten so as not to detract from the "uniqueness" of the
Jewish genocide under the Nazis and to maintain a "monopoly on
suffering," as he puts it. Shoah business does not like the competition.

The whole matter in Watertown was given added urgency by a resolution
now pending in Congress calling on Turkey to recognize the Armenian
genocide. This resolution is supported by the Armenian community and
opposed by the national ADL.

Anger began to mount in Watertown and the citizens called on the city
mothers and fathers to withdraw from the ADL-sponsored program. (ADL
Dollars and awards flow to participating towns.) The Watertown Town
Council called a meeting which was packed with a lot of angry
Armenians. Regional ADL director Andrew Tarsey came to the meeting to defend
the ADL genocide denial, (as had the ADL's national director, Abe
Foxman, in an interview with the Boston Globe,) and to call on the town
to stick with the "No Place for Hate" program. Tarsey was booed out
of the hall with hisses and catcalls. At that the town mothers and
fathers voted unanimously to quit the program, and at the cost of
overtime for two city workers the sign was gone before dawn.

Tarsey was unable to prevail with his genocide denial and couldn't
move Foxman and the national ADL to reverse course. Tarsey then
reversed his position and agreed that Armenians had indeed endured a
genocide.They then cut through the Gordian Knot by firing Tarsey. Two local
ADL board members duly resigned in protest. The rest stood by their
man, Foxman. Tarsey is now hailed repeatedly as a "hero" by local
Jewish leaders. If armies were composed of such heroes, every battle
would culminate in mutual mass retreat. Notably and unusually, the city
of Watertown and its council were not labeled anti-semitic by the ADL
and its assorted acolytes. Even Alan Dershowitz did not raise a peep.
This seems to be a kind of sea change, and it may have something to
do with the Lobby's weaker position now that it is more widely seen.
post Mearsheimer and Walt, as a principal instigator of the
disastrous war on Iraq.

At this point the Boston Jewish community was divided. Foxman was
under pressure, and Armenian-Americans from across the country were
getting involved. How to respond? With a big expensive newspaper ad of
course. And how did Foxman's ad make his case? By blaming it on the
Jews! Specificially the Jews of Turkey whom Foxman and company claim
would be endangered by a change in the ADL position. But there have been
many reports of the tolerance shown to Jews in Turkey, as one letter
writer to the Boston Globe noted. The Foxman ad also let the Israeli
cat out of the bag, saying, "We are also aware that Turkey is a key
strategic ally and friend of the United States and a staunch friend
of Israel." (Some staunch friend if it were true that Turkey was
persecuting Turkish Jews. What a tangled web has been woven by ADL.) But
of course the ADL was only stating its long-time position that Israel
comes first ­ way before any consideration of human rights.

Two days ago, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater
Boston (JCRC) known for its pro-Iraq war stance, its Iran bashing and its
opposition to Palestinian rights joined the fray. It sent out a
letter repudiating Foxmam's genocide denial ­ and claiming it recognized
the Armenian genocide long long ago ­ in fact in 2005, although this
received scant notice until now. Let's see; the genocide happened in
1915 and the JCRC recognized it in 2005 ­ after the passage of 90
years. By that logic Holocaust denial should be OK for another 13
years.

Today Foxman and his national ADL, hastily joining the local ADL in
full retreat, have pronounced the Armenian slaughter is a genocide
after all. Upon reflection and with the help of that great humanitarian,
Elie Wiesel, who seems to be acting as a kind of Jewish Billy Graham
and who has never acknowledged the injustice done the Palestinians,
Foxman thinks that it was a genocide after all. (Of course according
to their newspaper ad of several days back this means that the
national ADL is now abandoning Turkish Jewry to a horrible fate.) ADL was
in fact founded in 1913 just before the onset of the Armenian
genocide, so ADL's acknowledgement is not overly hasty. Perhaps the ADL's new
slogan could be "Building on 100 years of Genocide Denial."

But Foxman and company have not given up yet. National ADL still
refuses to support the Congressional resolution put forward by Rep. Adam
Schiff of California to recognize the Armenian genocide. (ADL in fact
has lobbied against the resolution.) But the Armenian community is
not buying it. Schiff wants ADL to support the resolution. And
Watertown Councilor Marilyn Pettito Devaney said that she and others will
accept nothing less than full ADL support for the resolution. Meanwhile
she said that she and others will lobby other towns to pull out of
the ADL's bigoted, "anti-bigotry" No Place for Hate" program. (You may
want to look at that site to see whether you can find any statement
about the slow genocide being wrought on the Palestinians.) This
program is found in cities and towns all over the United States. Do you
have one in your town?

John V. Walsh can be reached at john.endwar@gmail.com. This story
continues to develop with Foxman making a personal visit to Beantown
today. CounterPunch will keep an eye on the situation as it unwinds.

Jewish Group In U.S. Reverses Armenian Genocide Stand

The Jewish group Anti-Defamation League on Tuesday reversed itself and
called a World War I-era massacre of Armenians a genocide, a change that
comes days after the ADL fired a regional director for taking the same
stance.

ADL director Abraham Foxman's statement that the killings of Armenians
by Muslim Turks "were indeed tantamount to genocide" came after weeks of
controversy in which critics questioned whether an organization
dedicated to remembering Holocaust victims could remain credible without
acknowledging the Armenian killings as genocide.

The New York-based organization had called the deaths of up 1.5 million
Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks between 1915 and 1923 an
atrocity, but stopped short of saying it was genocide - a planned
extermination of the Christian Armenian minority.

Last week, the town of Watertown, home to a large Armenian population,
withdrew from the ADL's "No Place for Hate" anti-bigotry program because
of the organization's refusal to call the massacres genocide. The ADL
also fired New England regional director Andrew Tarsy after he said he
agreed the killings were genocide. The towns of Acton and Newton were
among those considering whether to break ties with the ADL, and several
Jewish organizations, led by the Jewish Community Relations Council of
Greater Boston, signed a letter urging the ADL to acknowledge the
killings as genocide.

In a statement Tuesday, Foxman said he consulted with historians and his
friend, Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, after the controversy began and
became convinced genocide had occurred. In an interview, Foxman said the
letter from the Jewish groups revealed divisions Jews cannot afford to
have at a time of increased threats to them around the world.

"This is not a time for us to be squabbling about historical fact or
non-fact," he said. "That's what really shocked me into saying, you know
what, I've got to find a way to bring us together."

But Foxman said his group would not support a pending Congressional
resolution that calls the massacre a genocide, saying it was "a
counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between
Turks and Armenians." Foxman would not comment on whether Tarsy would be
rehired.

Nurten Ural, president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations,
said she was disappointed by the ADL's decision. Turks and Armenians
both suffered during the war, and calling it genocide by the Turks is
like being accused of a crime you did not commit, she said.

Ural said many historians do not believe a genocide occurred, and said
if the Congressional resolution passes it would damage relations with
Turkey, which is valued in the West as a friend of Israel in the hostile
Middle East and a bulwark against radical Islam. "This is not a
political issue, this is an historical issue, it should be left to the
historians," Ural said. "The U.S. needs Turkey, Turkey needs the U.S. in
many, many ways. It would be really bad for both countries."

The controversy began in July after Newton resident David Boyajian wrote
a local Watertown paper about the ADL's stance and urged the community's
No Place for Hate program to sever ties with the ADL. During a meeting
on the subject in Watertown last week, Tarsy was booed by the overflow
crowd. Later in the week, he changed his stance and said he strongly
disagreed with the national organization.

James Russell, professor of Armenian studies at Harvard University, said
evidence of the Armenian genocide is overwhelming, including eyewitness
accounts and copious documentation. He said the word "genocide" was
invented in the 1940s by an attorney trying to come up with a legal term
to describe what had happened to the Armenians.

"The word was invented to describe what had happened to the Armenians in
the first place," he said. "If there's any ambiguity there, then the
Declaration of Independence might as well be considered a British
royalist document."

State Rep. Rachel Kaprielian, an Armenian and Watertown resident, said
she was "relieved and heartened and glad" about the ADL's decision. But
asked if Watertown would re-establish its connection to the ADL,
Kaprielian said, "The dust has to settle on this."

Kaprielian criticized the ADL for failing to support the Congressional
resolution, which she said just repeats what the ADL acknowledged
Tuesday. She said the group was letting geopolitical concerns take
precedence over its core commitment to human rights.

Foxman said the ADL does not just fight for equal rights, but also works
to protect the Jewish community. Members of the Jewish minority in
Turkey flew to the U.S. to ask the ADL to remain neutral on the genocide
question, and Foxman had honored the request. But he said with the
Armenian issue "tearing the community apart" he had to take a stand in
the interest of unity.

"It's the balancing of moral points of view," he said. "It's not one
above the other, but sometimes you have to make a decision."

Politics Time for a plan B over 'genocide'

a.aslan@todayszaman.com

Here we go. The Anti Defamation League (ADL) has issued a statement acknowledging the Armenian "genocide." This is the first public endorsement of the Armenian cause by a prominent American Jewish organization. Am I surprised? Not necessarily -- I sort of knew it was coming. From my conversations with representatives of American Jewish lobby groups, I had the impression that there was no consensus on this controversial matter. Make no mistake, there has always been some agreement in American Jewish community that those events were "tantamount to genocide." That's the same case with most other "friends" of Turkey. But believing something is one thing, and revealing it publicly is one another. Recently, there has obviously been a tendency to speak more openly on this matter. The ADL's position is this: Yes, this was genocide, but the US Congress should not say so. Frankly, in some ways, I find the ADL intellectually more honest than many other Jewish organizations. The Jewish organizations investing in better Turkish-Israeli-American relations have been trying to be politically correct toward Turkey. The ADL is more honest because this is what most Jewish organizations have
always believed but had yet to say it publicly. The ADL stops short of supporting the Armenian genocide resolution in Congress because they think it would be "counterproductive." If one believes the Jewish genocide (that is, the Holocaust) should have consequences but an
"Armenian genocide" should not, that is not completely honest. That's the main problem with the ADL's position. On the other hand, to be fair, when it comes to talking about politically charged issues like the Armenian genocide allegations, to expect full honesty from any party
involved would be luxury. There are serious gaps between public and private positions.

Take the US government for instance. Publicly, they fall slightly short of naming it "genocide." But I'm sure privately most of the officials believe it is. "Ethnic cleansing" and "forced exile" are not things any nation can be proud of. When the US government uses such terms instead of genocide, we Turks are relieved! In sum, although the executive branch deep inside agrees there was a genocide against Armenians, they refuse to call it such because that is
"counterproductive." What's at stake here for them is further intimidating Turks and hurting US interests within Turkey and its neighborhood. The three foremost important foreign policy matters for the US in our region nowadays -- Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan -- require Ankara's uninterrupted cooperation.

The US Congress is another story. Again, even among the so-called "friends" of Turkey, including the Turkish caucus, there is less doubt the events of 1915 were tantamount to a "genocide." Two hundred and twenty-five of the 435 representatives have publicly endorsed the Armenian resolution. Again, most of those who have yet to publicly support the bill believe it is "counterproductive" to say what they think. It is easy to test my analysis. Tell me how many US representatives have publicly said so far there is no such thing as an Armenian genocide. You'll hardly remember any. The senators have generally a more statesmanlike attitude than the representatives; therefore the Senate position would fall somewhat between the executive branch and the House.

Now that the ADL has opened Pandora's box on the part of powerful Jewish lobby groups, Turkey faces a bigger challenge. Whoever I talk to in Washington has said sooner or later an Armenian genocide resolution would pass. It's just a matter of timing and convenience. Fortunately, the serious problems the US faces in our region have made it less convenient for American politicians to finalize the bill. Although current congressional leaders with the Democratic Party seem tobe more inclined to go ahead, it is not completely unlikely that "national interest" and "national security" arguments would once againprevail.

The Armenian lobby groups and their collaborators in the US are trying hard to punish Turkey with this resolution. Frankly, I believe the process so far has been an even harsher punishment than the final outcome. The issue consumes a considerable deal of Turkish diplomatic energy and resources, which could have been otherwise spent in pursuing more tangible national interests. We can spend our and our supporters' political capital on other issues. I don't want to sound like a defeatist but as a realist in foreign policy matters I think Ankara needs to give a second thought to whether the issue deserves that level of commitment. The more Turkey seems to be intimidated, the more mistakes we might make, the more advertisement the Armenian genocide thesis gets and the happier our international adversaries become. We have obviously lost debates among US intellectuals, are increasingly losing them among NGOs like the ADL -- and it looks like sooner or later we will lose the battle in the US Congress. Perhaps now it's time for preparing the Turkish public for more negative outcomes and to reflecton better strategies rather than sticking with the same old tactics.

Turkey, Israel in bid to contain damage after ADL move

Turkey, Israel in bid to contain damage after ADL move Turkish officials voiced "deep disappointment" on Thursday over an influential US Jewish group's labeling of the World War I killing of Anatolian Armenians as genocide, stressing that calling the 1915 incidents genocide has neither historical nor legal grounds.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan expressed concern over the Anti-Defamation League's move during a phone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, Israeli officials said. Erdoðanstressed the "futility" of the organization's decision to call the events as genocide in the conversation and Peres responded saying that Israel's well known position on the issue of genocide claims has not changed. The Israeli prime minister also said Israel attached great
importance to relations with Turkey and promised to "advocate Turkey's position on the issue in the US."

Separately, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül voiced Ankara's uneasiness and disappointment with the ADL move during a meeting with Israel's outgoing ambassador to Turkey, Pinhas Aviv, who paid a visit to the minister at his office at ministry headquarters on Thursday. Turkish
diplomats warned that the ADL statement might have negative impacts on Turkish-Israeli as well as on Turkey-US relations.

The New York-based Anti-Defamation League earlier this week reversed its longtime policy by calling the World War I killing of Anatolian Armenians genocide -- a change that comes days after the ADL fired a regional director for taking the same position. ADL Director Abraham
Foxman's statement that the killings of Armenians by Muslim Turks "were indeed tantamount to genocide" came after weeks of controversy in which critics questioned whether an organization dedicated to remembering Holocaust victims could remain credible without
acknowledging the Armenian killings as genocide.

Israeli news reports said yesterday that Turkish Ambassador Namýk Tan was cutting short his holiday in Turkey to return to Israel and express Turkey's concerns over the ADL decision to Israeli officials. But Foreign Ministry officials denied the reports, saying Tan was due to return to work since his vacation ended.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in asystematic genocide campaign by Ottoman Turks around the time of WorldWar I, but Ankara categorically rejects the label, saying that both Armenians and Turks died in civil strife during World War I when the
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

Late on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Levent Bilman said in a statement that there was no "consensus" among scientists and historians that events of World War I constituted genocide, contrary to the ADL's conviction that there is. "Moreover, it is Turkey who has asked Armenia to establish a joint commission and reveal the historical realities. No positive response has yet been made to this offer. The ADL's attempt to rewrite history via a decision it made is constituting a contradiction and its justification cannot be understood," Bilman said, referring to the fact that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan sent a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian in 2005, inviting him to establish a joint commission of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia to study the events of 1915 in the archives of Turkey, Armenia and other relevant countries around the world.

Bilman recalled that the decision announced by ADL Director Foxman also emphasized that they "continue to firmly believe that a Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States."

"On the other hand, the Jewish community in our country is a part of our society and there isn't any particularity that they should fear of concerning developments related to the Armenian allegations," Bilman said. "We consider this statement, which also constitutes fairness to the unique position of the Holocaust in the history as well as to memories of its [Holocaust's] victims, as a misfortune and expect it be corrected," he concluded.

Meanwhile in Washington, the US administration made clear that its policy on the Armenian issue remained unchanged. "Our policy remains. It's clear. We mourn the victims of the tragic events of 1915 and call on Turks and Armenians to come to terms with the past through candid
and heartfelt dialogue. We oppose attempts to make political determinations on the terminology of this tragedy," Gonzalo R. Gallegos, director of the Office of Press Relations at the State Department, told reporters on Wednesday.

Ankara doesn't exclude the probability of pressure on the ADL from certain US Congress members. Two separate resolutions are pending in the US Senate and House of Representatives urging the administration to recognize the killings as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage
of the resolutions in the US Congress would seriously harm relations with Washington and impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US administration has said it is opposed to the resolution, but the congressional process is an independent one. In his message on April 24, which Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire, US President George W. Bush adhered to the administration policy of not referring to the incident as genocide.

Turkey will try to win back the hearts of the American Jewish community

The recognition of the World War I-era killings of Armenians as
genocide by the national Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has shocked
Turkey, which is now trying to overcome this by taking compensatory
measures. The ADL is an advocacy group aiming to stop the defamation
of the Jewish people.

Experts and advisors to the government cabinet held a meeting with
diplomats at the Foreign Ministry yesterday to determine a strategy
that will win back the hearts of Jewish Americans, the Turkish Daily
News learned.

A similarly strategic meeting is expected to be held in the coming
days by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan. He might try to engage
in phone diplomacy to convince the Jewish lobby, according to the
diplomatic sources.

`The strategy is to convince the ADL first, and if we cannot do that
then Turkey will try to counter the Jewish lobby in the U.S. This
cannot be a blank acceptance for Turkey,' said a Turkish diplomat.

`We were not expecting such a decision. Last week, they fired the
director who used [the term `genocide']. What I understood is that
after the director was fired, a discussion started in the ADL. We were
in contact with the ADL two days ago,` said an expert on
American-Turkish relations.

The decision might negatively influence Jewish votes in the
U.S. Congress since there are more than 100 Jewish Americans in the
House of Representatives, the expert said.

`We will try to establish a connection with the ADL again and will try
to convince them first,' said a person who attended the meeting.

`If they insist on defining the period as genocide, then Turkey will
take necessary steps against that. Of course we will not identify the
Turkish Jewish community with the American Jewish one. We will also
get in contact with Israel to understand the reasons behind the
decision,' added the source.

Since the Jewish lobby is seen as an important political tool for
Turkey's policies in Washington, Ankara avoids making non-diplomatic
statements in reference to the Jews.

Ankara fears that the U.S. will recognize the events of 1915-1919 as
genocide, and is also concerned about its impact on bilateral
relations.

Turkish envoy cuts vacation short to deal with ADL uproar

The Turkish ambassador is set to end his vacation two weeks early to return
to Israel and register Turkey's concerns about the Anti-Defamation League's
statement that Turkish actions toward the Armenians from 1915-1918 were
"tantamount to genocide," *The Jerusalem Post* has learned.

The decision to send Namik Tan back on Thursday came at a high-level meeting
at the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara on Wednesday. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to call Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert in the coming days to discuss the matter.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling the ADL statement
"unfortunate," and said Turkey expected that the statement would "be
corrected."

ADL National Director Abe Foxman issued a statement Tuesday saying that
Turkey's actions against Armenians "were tantamount to genocide," in a
dramatic reversal of a long-standing policy.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said that to describe the events
during WWI as "genocide" was "without historical and legal basis," and that
contrary to the ADL's claim, there was no consensus on this matter among
historians.

"We see this statement as an unfortunate one that is unjust to the
Holocaust, which has no precedent, and to its victims. And we expect it to
be corrected," the statement read.

Israel's Foreign Ministry had no comment on the matter, which both Israeli
and Turkish diplomatic sources privately admit could strain bilateral
relations.

One Turkish official said the fact there was no reference in the Turkish
Foreign Ministry statement to Israeli-Turkish relations was a message to the
Jewish state not to change its policy on the genocide issue.

Israel's position on this matter was last formally articulated in March,
when the Knesset shelved a proposal for a parliamentary discussion on the
Armenian genocide.

Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri, speaking on behalf of Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni, said at the time: "As Jews and Israelis we have special
sympathy and a moral obligation to commemorate the massacres that were
perpetrated against the Armenians in the last years of Ottoman rule. The
State of Israel never denied these terrible acts. On the contrary, we
understand fully the intense emotional feelings aroused by this, taking into
consideration the number of victims, and the suffering of the Armenian
people."

Ben-Yizri also said Israel understood that this was a "loaded" issue between
the Armenians and Turks, and that Israel hoped "both sides will reach an
open dialogue that will enable them to heal the wounds that have been left
open."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also took the ADL to task for suggesting that
the organization's change of policy could place Turkey's Jewish community in
danger.

"The Turkish Jewish community is part and parcel of our society, and there
is no reason for them to have concerns," the ministry said in its statement.


The ADL had said a US Congressional resolution on the genocide issue would
be a "counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between
Turks and Armenians, and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and
the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the
United States."

ANCA: ADL Recognizes Armenian Genocide; Opposes Genocide Resolution

Righteous Jews, Armenians, and Others demand ADL Director's Resignation

Commentary

For many years, Armenian-Americans have been frustrated and angered by the fact that a small number of influential Jewish-American organizations have been undermining congressional efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide by providing political support to the Turkish denialist campaign.

At the same time, the Armenian community has been pleased that many Jewish groups, scholars and even some Israeli officials, contrary to their government's policy of appeasing Turkish denialism, have taken a principled stand on this issue by not succumbing to Turkey's blackmail.

As the Armenian-American community has become stronger politically and gained the support of numerous Jewish individuals and organizations in recent years, it has begun to actively challenge and counter all efforts at genocide denial.

The most recent controversy erupted last month when David Boyajian, a Boston area activist, sent a letter to the editor of the Watertown Tab, complaining about the fact that Abe Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), had made statements to the media casting doubt on the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Foxman was quoted as saying: "The Turks and Armenians need to revisit their past. The Jewish community shouldn't be the arbiter of that history. And I don't think the U.S. Congress should be the arbiter, either."

[try using that argument for the Holocaust!!]

Furthermore, the ADL, along with the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith International and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) recently forwarded to the U.S. Congress a letter from Turkey's small Jewish community opposing the pending congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide. In his letter, Boyajian objected to the sponsorship by the Town of Watertown, Massachusetts, of ADL's anti-racist program -- "No Place for Hate" - at a
time when the latter's Director was making disparaging remarks on the Armenian Genocide.

In response to letters from several other readers, Boston area newspapers provided extensive coverage of this controversy and published editorials critical of Foxman and the ADL. The Watertown Town Council then held a hearing and, by a unanimous vote, decided to disassociate itself from the "No Place for Hate" program due to its affiliation with ADL. Other Massachusetts cities are considering a similar action.

The controversy widened when scores of Jewish-Americans openly challenged and harshly criticized Foxman's indifference to the Armenian Genocide, finding it utterly unacceptable that the leader of an organization that fights bias would take such a cavalier attitude toward genocide. Many called for his immediatedismissal.

Andrew H. Tarsy, the ADL's New England Regional Director, called an emergency meeting of the regional ADL Board which voted last week to urge the National ADL to revise its policy of genocide denial.

In response to mounting criticism, the National ADL posted a statement on its website -- published this week as a paid ad in the Boston Globe and the Jewish Advocate -- saying that the ADL "has acknowledged and never denied the massacres" of Armenians, while claiming that "legislative efforts outside of Turkey are counterproductive to the goal of having Turkey itself come to grips with its past."

The ADL headquarters also sent a letter to the local ADL board, signed by Chairman Glen Lewy and Director Foxman, stating that the regional board does not have the authority to publicly advocate a policy contrary to ADL's position. The letter referred to the Armenian Genocide as "a dispute between Armenians and Turkey" and described the genocide as a "massacre."

Foxman then fired ADL's Regional Director Tarsy for challenging the ADL's position on the Armenian Genocide. In retaliation, ADL's New England executive committee backed Tarsy and resolved to actively support the congressional resolution on the Armenia Genocide.

In a joint opinion column published in the Boston Globe, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz and Massachusetts State Representative Rachel Kaprielian called for an unequivocal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide and praised the regional chapter of ADL for doing so.

The dismissal of Tarsy created a major rift between the regional board and the ADL headquarters. Two prominent members of its New England Regional Board, Stewart Cohen, the former chairman of the Polaroid Corporation, and Boston City Council member Mike Ross, resigned in protest. They said that they could no longer be part of an organization that does not recognize the Armenian Genocide. According to press reports other regional board members are also contemplating handing in their resignations.

Another prominent Jewish leader, George Beilin -- a past president of the North Shore Council of the B'nai B'rith Organization -- called on Foxman to "resign immediately for the sake of the Jewish community in the United States and the world." Steve Grossman, a former ADL regional board member, called Tarsy's firing "a vindictive, intolerant, and destructive act." The Boston Jewish
Community Relations Council also came to Tarsy's defense, issuing a statement in support of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Ronne Friedman, senior rabbi at Temple Israel, the largest synagogue in Boston, was quoted by the Boston Globe as saying: "I'm devastated to hear the news [of Tarsy's firing]. I think it's an inexcusable behavior on the part of the national office." For
additional statements and articles on this issue, please see: www.noplacefordenial.com.

Should Foxman not respond to calls, from the Jewish community and others,seeking his resignation:-- French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is a descendant of Holocaust survivors, should be asked to rescind the Legion of Honor bestowed upon Foxman in 2006 by President Jacques Chirac, France's highest civilian honor. -- Cities throughout the United States should follow Watertown's lead and disassociate themselves from the ADL's "NPFH" program, as long as Foxman persists in his denialist position on the Armenian Genocide.

Foxman should step aside in order to prevent further damage to ADL's good work. It is inconceivable that an organization that fights discrimination is led by someone who denies genocide. The new Director of the ADL should issue a clear statement acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and declare the organization's support for the pending congressional resolution.

WE LACK DEMOCRACY LONG AGO
"HAYOTS ASHKHARH"
17 Aug 07

We continue our conversation about democracy that we started in our
yesterday's issue.

There is no real democracy in the world. Long ago... The fact that
western societies call themselves democratic doesn't mean that they
are really democratic. Before Sarkozy's victory "Euronews" TV channel,
through an at all times-experienced expert, straightforwardly named
French political system an "electoral monarchy".

Is the situation different in other western countries? Should we take
this word in brackets? Should we be happy or sad about it?

The first thing in case of "democracy" that leads us into delude is its
abstract and formal definition. For example that "in democracy power
belongs to the people", or a more complicated definition - " people
hand power over to their representatives and control their activity".

If we take a glance at the life and activity of the so-called developed
countries we will definitely see that no one hands anything over
to anyone.

They themselves take the power by means of political technologies
and manipulation of governable consciousness, by developed and quite
legal and legitimate corruption (which is given not personally but
in the form of charity). And no one controls anyone; at best you can
hear complaints.

And besides that how can someone hand over the power when this
someone doesn't know what is power, someone who is busy in super -
exhaustion only. And finally how can one supervise something having
no idea about how it functions.

In the history democracy has always been born, developed and has
vanished as a concrete organism, as a concrete system of social
relations, that solves a certain historical task. And it evaporates
either after solving that issue or as a consequence of the loss of
modernization.

The first democracy (and truth to tell the last) and by the way the
most developed has been established in Roman Empire. If we try to
compare the democratic efforts of the present days' western societies
with Roman Empire we will feel regret for the lost and irretrievable
model.

Can you imagine electing two presidents instead of one, with equal
power and rights? No separation of commissions, even in territorial
sense. When the volume of power gives an opportunity to have direct
interference in the activity of any official.

This is how the consuls, the possessors of the supreme power
were elected in the Republic. They were elected only for one
year but it would never damage the legal succession of power. In
critical situations one dictator used to be appointed instead of two
consuls. After solving the problem he would return his power to its
"previous place".

Let's return to the present days. The analyses of the success and
the failure of democracy in different countries displays that to
establish properly functioning democracy these countries need to
fulfill certain conditions.

First: the country must reach a certain level of well-being, democracy
can't be rooted in a poor country.

Second: if we speak about the "centuries of changes " - then we should
say that modernization shouldn't affect people's quantity.

Otherwise democracy leads to the denial of modernization and throws
the society backward.

And finally: the society should grow for democracy and learn to
benefit from it, for example - to distinguish liberty from anarchy.

Unfortunately this doesn't happen nowadays.

The statements, often heard, about "the absolute value of democracy"
are light-minded and groundless, and true democracy, as any tool
of governing the society has serious limitations in terms of its
exercise. That is why democracy needs serious and not commercial
approach.

Otherwise good will can lead the country to chaos, which will
definitely discredit both the true values and the "implanters of
democracy".

Like in medical service, in serious politics as well Hippocrat's law
is indispensable, to advance democracy, which runs "Look sharp! Not
to damage." close

Hayots Ashkharh, Armenia
Aug 18 2007
A HOUSE BUILT FROM THE ROOF


Today we bring to an end our series of articles about the
principles of democracy. In this article we will speak about the
peculiarities of the present-day democracy built in our reality.

Those who usually criticize the president state, 'During Robert
Kocharyan's government democracy has fallen in Armenia.' In our view
this statement is not right. Democracy has neither increased nor
decreased in our reality, it has simply changed its nature.

Actually, during the recent ten years many initiatives have been
taken in the country that from the first sight can be considered
restriction of democracy. Whereas the `restriction of democracy' is
far not the principle goal of the acting power. After the coup d'état
in 1998 the first problem faced by the country was the lack of
governance, to be more precise a real anarchy. That is why Robert
Kocharyan had to choose the guideline of establishing a comparably
more effective governing system.

The calculation was based on bureaucracy and state apparatus, as
institutions like powerful parties and social organizations, powerful
local self-governance, accomplished juridical system simply didn't
exist.

We should be fair: even before Robert Kocharyan democracy was far
from being perfect in Armenia and the enumeration of its shortcomings
is really very boring. The logic of the authority after the coup
d'état, judging from all, was as follows - first: to build a
governing vertical (because it is simply impossible to work with the
ungovernable system moreover it is even dangerous), after which with
the help of this system to complete the democratic elements that the
statehood lacks (the same juridical system etc.)

To be able to understand the model of democracy built in the
country lets speak about the most important component - the parties.

The multi-party system formed in 1998 was obviously in crises. The
parties ceased to be the `motors' of democracy (if they have ever
been). The population became more apolitical and it was at that time
that the huge army of `man-parties appeared'. Due to the absence of
real contact with the masses the parties were becoming levers
interfering in the countries internal life.

It was indispensable to improve the party system that is why the
amendments in the law on political parties were initiated, according
to which the parties had to go with certain strict standards,
including the number of members and their representations in the
provinces. We should underscore that the state doesn't manifest
strictness in controlling the parties but the process goes forward,
though slowly, but the political domain really purifies, in the
positive sense of this word.

In addition to this from election to election the number of
majority seats decreases, which promotes the formation of the system
of so called big parties that is improved by Robert Kocharyan.

In parallel to this the implemented constitutional reforms; the
formation of coalition governments and the perfection of election
legislation raised the role of the parties. The thing is about real
parties, because the change of the game rules leads to the withdrawal
of dwarf parties from the political domain. The recent parliamentary
election is a bright example.

The present day democracy built in Armenia is all over again far
from being perfect, but absolutely not because it doesn't bear a
resemblance to the western models and not because the President puts
restriction on democracy. The subjective factor has always been in
the history but it is absolutely not decisive.

The main reason is quite different: in Armenia democracy reminds
of a house that has been built from the roof. Probably because at the
end of 80-ies and in the beginning of 90-ies the implantation of
democracy was not a manifestation of social activeness (don't mix it
up with democratization of Karabakh movement), but ` a revolution
from the top'. In the euphoria of building that structure unfamiliar
to Armenia they simply forgot about the foundation and the walls of
the building.

Today it is not only regretful but also dangerous to ruin the
existing roof. Better to start building the `foundation' and the
`walls' little by little.


`HAYOTS ASHKHARH'

ARMENIAN ARMY ABUSES GO UNCHECKED
By Gegham Vardanian, a correspondent with Internews in Yerevan.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Aug 17 2007
UK

Defence minister pledges to clean up poor practice, but conscripts
say corruption and violence are still rife.

Arsen Karapetian served in the Armenian army for just over a year
before he fell gravely ill and his parents bought him out in exchange
for a bribe.

Karapetian recalled the incident which led to his illness. "It was
early spring. Early in the morning, we were woken by an alarm call
and they marched us out of the base. There was a heavy downpour and
we were soaked to the skin within five minutes."

The soldiers returned to base and hung out their wet uniforms to dry,
but their company commander ordered them to get dressed and go for a
theory lesson. "We had to put on our wet clothes again and spend an
hour and a half in a cold hall," he said.

Karapetian and more than a dozen other soldiers subsequently contracted
pneumonia, which in his case developed into pleurisy. Some of them
were kept at the base for two weeks before being taken to hospital.

"I grew terribly thin," he said. "Fluid was pumped from my lungs every
day. I was supposed to be demobilised but they kept on postponing
it. In the end, my parents gave a bribe of 500 [US] dollars to the
'right' officers to speed up my demobilisation."

On returning to civilian life, Arsen was registered as a disabled
person.

The military has not taken any action against the officer involved
in the incident.

The often appalling treatment meted out to conscript soldiers during
their two years of military service is widely known about, but is still
off-limits as subject for public debate. According to the Armenian
Helsinki Committee, which monitors human rights in the armed forces,
"The number of crimes is not getting any less, because the culture
of permissiveness and impunity still prevails."

The head of the committee, Avetik Ishkhanian, believes there is an
unwritten law that you cannot speak out publicly about abuses in
the army.

"Soldiers are afraid of speaking the truth while they are serving,"
he said. "They avoid doing so after demobilisation too, and just try
to forget the years they spent in the army."

According to Zhanna Aleksanian, a journalist and human rights activist
who has extensively researched abuses in the military, "Bribery is
commonplace in the army. Beatings and violence meted out by officers
are not even discussed. Parents prefer to remain silent on this issue,
as they do not want to harm their sons even more."

Armenian defence minister Mikael Harutiunian insisted that the military
was tough on disciplining its commissioned officers.

"If officers are guilty and if they have committed a crime, they
are punished," he told IWPR. "Many officers have been dismissed and
prosecuted. Guilty officers are always punished."

However, according to the Armenian prosecutor general's office, of
the 46 convictions of military officers last year, only one involved
mistreatment of a soldier, and three were for taking bribes.

Many experts say that instances of abuse are often covered up.

Lawyer and member of parliament Zaruhi Postanjian said that in cases
where soldiers are injured when the officer who ought to be on duty
is absent from his post, no legal action is taken.

Before she was elected to parliament, Postanjian worked for many
years to protect the rights of young soldiers from the rough rules
of the army's unwritten code. She points to the informal system of
"unit overseers" -men who impose order among their comrades and wield
enormous power over junior conscripts.

Aleksanian explained how the system worked. "This 'unit overseer', a
soldier or a sergeant, is usually chosen by the officer in command,
and he enjoys certain privileges. Commanders manage their units
through these overseers - it's easier for them that way. They can
easily call the overseer to order. The soldiers fear and respect him
and he decides everything and punishes those who don't obey."

She noted that the existence of these unofficial enforcers is now
taken as a matter of fact. "The unit overseers... are often cited in
court cases. That makes it sort of official," she said.

A conscript can pay off the network of platoon and battalion commanding
officers, 'unit overseers" and their associates known as the "good
lads" to win privileges, such as extended leave.

A recently demobilised soldier, Vahe Nikoghosian, said he took leave
several times and paid a bribe of around 15 US dollars a day to the
officer. After returning from leave, soldiers then have to bring gifts
- money, food, cigarettes, and, these days, mobile phone credit cards -
to the overseer and his "lads" who made it possible.

Nikoghosian argues that the overseers play a useful role. "Without
them, the soldiers would be constantly fighting each other," he said.

"In our unit, the overseer usually resolved arguments fairly, and
someone who had been insulted could always appeal to him."

He said his parents constantly paid out bribes to make his army life
easier. "They were always sending me food and clothes. When they came
to see me, they'd always invite the officers to a restaurant. On three
occasions, they gave me money to pay officers so I could take leave."

The defence minister says the officer class cannot be wholly blamed
if illegal practices occur in the units under their command.

"It depends not just on the officers but also on the quality of
soldiers coming into the army, what kind of upbringing they've had,
where they grew up and which town of village they lived in before
joining up," Harutiunian told IWPR. "The army can't call up only the
well-disciplined and the properly brought-up."

He promised that "we will do all we can to reduce the number of
negative incidents in the army. Of course, they won't disappear 100
per cent, but we have to work even harder."

Paying the right money or having the right contacts can ensure you
are assigned to an easier posting.

"Parents pay at least 500 dollars to prevent their sons being sent
to a regiment far away on the border," said Postanjian.

The ex-soldier Nikoghosian confirmed this from his own experience,
saying, "Before I was drafted, they [parents] found an acquaintance
who handed over a bribe of 700 dollars so that I would not be sent
me to a regiment posted in a remote location."

The Helsinki Committee reports that there are "VIP units" based close
to the capital Yerevan, which take the sons of government officials,
or anyone willing to hand over between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars.

After IWPR contacted Harutiunian, he ordered the head of the defence
ministry's personnel department, General Vardan Avetisian, to provide
an interview. But in a telephone conversation, Avetisian categorically
refused to be interviewed about corruption or other abuses.

"The army is a closed-in, armoured, invulnerable structure surrounded
by an iron curtain," said Aleksanian. "Of course, hazing may disappear
one day but I cannot see any progress towards making that happen."

(Arsen Karapetian and Vahe Nikoghosian are not the real names of the
soldiers interviewed for this report.)

UNIVERSITIES SEE LOWER PASS SCORE
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Aug 17 2007

Applicants to Armenian universities needed lower scores to be admitted
to academic faculties this year.

At the same time, the number of average scorers in entrance
examinations showed an increase as compared to last year.

About 30 percent of exam takers in the Russian language could not
overcome the minimum required eight-point score, while about 26
percent failed in mathematics. Lower scores were also typical for
the exams in the Armenian people's history and the oral exam in the
Armenian language.

Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian is particularly concerned over the
diminishing interest in natural sciences, such as chemistry, biology
and physics. He says the low level of knowledge among applicants in
these subjects is the omission of their school teachers.

"The entrance examinations have shown that school clearly does not
perform its function, because the high scores registered in these
subjects are the result of private studies with hired teachers,"
Mkrtchian said.

The minister also observed that fewer applicants had taken exams in
German and French as foreign languages, which shows the tendency of the
English becoming the most preferred foreign language among the youths.

Mkrtchian says they often receive requests from parents for their
children to study English rather than German or French at school, which
they think will give their children more chances to be competitive
on the labor market after leaving school.

According to the minister, this year's entrance examinations were
a success in terms of reducing corruption risks, especially in the
exams in the Armenian language and literature due to the application
of a common examination system and a computer-assisted check.

Mkrtchian hopes corruption risks will be reduced also in the exams
in foreign languages and mathematics as the practice is due to be
applied to these subjects as well next year.

HAILSTONE FALLEN IN ARAGATSOTN AND SHIRAK REGIONS CAUSES DAMAGE TO NUMBER OF RURAL COMMUNITIES
Noyan Tapan
Aug 15 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The grain and potato arable lands
of the Norashen, Hnaberd, Geghadir, Berkarat, Gegharot, Tsilkar,
Derek, and Ortatchya villages have suffered damaged on account of the
strong hailstone fallen in the Aragatsotn region on August 14. This
information was provided to Noyan Tapan by the Information and Public
Relations' Department of the Rescue Service of Armenia.

On the same day the agricultural arable lands in the Arevshat and
Spandarian villages of the Shirak region were damaged, the roofs of
houses and windows were broken, and in Spandarian the wheat field of
35 hectare suffered damages, the roofs of one house and two cattle
sheds were broken as a result of the hailstone fallen at about 21:00.

Commissions have been formed by the regional councils of Aragatsotn
and Shirak in order to check the sizes of the damage.


CASH DISPENSERS IN DOWNTOWN YEREVAN TO RESUME SERVICES NEXT WEEK
Noyan Tapan
Aug 18, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The transfer of ArmenTel company's
cables at the crossroads of Yerevan's Tigran the Great Avenue -
Khanjian Street, Vardanants - Khanjian Streets, Nalbandian - Alek
Manukian Streets in connection with the construction of underground
crossings at the indicated crossroads will be completed next week,
NT correspondent was informed by Hasmik Chutilian, PR Director of
ArmenTel.

According to Artur Hakobjanian, employee of Armenian Card company's
technical unit, the servicing by nearly 110 cash dispensers located in
downtown Yerevan has been discontinued since August 15. H. Chutilian
said that the banks, whose management applied to ArmenTel with the
request to be provided other connection ways, have received such
communication and the opportunity for their cash dispensers to operate.

Until now the Armenian banks to have joined Armenian Card system have
provided 117,928 ArCa plastic cards which are serviced by 217 cash
dispensers and 1,296 POS terminals. As of late March 2007, there were
232,762 plastic cards in circulation in Armenia, including 104,216
ArCa cards. Operations of a total of 36 bln 233 mln drams (over 100.8
mln USD) were made with plastic cards in Armenia in the first half
of 2007, including operations of 12 bln 617 mln drams with ArCa cards.

PAVING OF YEREVAN'S STREETS 92% COMPLETED
Panorama.am
21:05 15/08/2007

The ongoing process of paving the streets of Yerevan is 92%
complete. As informed by the press service of city hall, the work
will be completely finished by September. To reach this deadline,
workers have a 3-tired graphic, as ordered by the mayor of Yerevan
at the most recent planning session.

We remind that this is in accordance with the planned conclusion date
of September 15, excepting the bridge at the corner of Tigran Mets
and Khanjian. That construction will last until October.

Starting tomorrow, work on the roads and bridges will begin, along
with work on the Baghramyan-Kievyan and Kievyan-Orbeli intersections
and on the "Artsakh" and "Freedom" boulevards. A list of expenses
has already been discussed and approved.

According to available information, cracks in the streets will also
be filled by the agreed-upon deadline. Additional workers will be
used to be able to complete the work on time.

No synonyms for genocide

[keep updated with Armenian Genocide news after the August holiday by clicking on http://armenian-genocide.info/]

[Taner Akcam is at the at Edinburgh International Book Festival on
Monday August 27 at 11am. Call 0845 3735888 www.edbookfest.co.uk]

ONE SHOULDN'T play geopolitics with genocide. The executive committee of the
Anti-Defamation League for New England showed sound moral judgment this week
when it acknowledged that, just like the destruction of the Jews in Europe
and the Tutsis in Rwanda, the slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
was a horrific crime against humanity.

All three genocides had particular historical characteristics, but they have
universal significance as a recurring evil that needs to be identified
properly so that humankind recognizes its early stages and takes action to
prevent mass slaughter.

But the national ADL apparently thinks that it can pick and choose among
genocides. Yesterday it fired Andrew Tarsy, the regional director, for
urging the national organization to acknowledge the reality of what happened
from 1915 to 1917 in what is now Turkey. The ADL plans to run an
advertisement in the Globe and other newspapers explaining its position.

In a telephone interview yesterday, James Rudolph, the regional ADL
chairman, called Tarsy an extraordinary leader. Indeed, Tarsy was acting in
the best ADL tradition of trying to unite people of different ethnic groups,
in this case Jews and Armenians, to promote human rights.

The national ADL, in its ad, does condemn the killing of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians but can't quite describe this crime for what it was:
genocide. The ADL says it is worried about the fate of the Jewish community
in Turkey and Turkey's strategic relationships with the United States and
Israel.

But Turkey's treatment of its Jewish minority and its foreign policy
shouldn't depend on a historical lie. If the national ADL doesn't
acknowledge the genocide, it is complicit in a coverup.

FROM CHAD TO ARMENIA
Hayots Ashkharh Daily Newspaper
Aug 17 2007
Armenia

Torch-light procession was launched from the center of Africa, Eastern
Chad initiated by the world famous actress, UNISEF goodwill Ambassador
Mia Faro and "Save Darfur" NGO on August 8, aimed at concentrating
on the issue of genocides and especially the situation in Darfur.

The torchlight procession will pass all the countries that have ever
suffered from genocide, including Armenia.

Director of the Museum-Institute of Genocide in Yerevan Hayk Demoyan
said Armenia would be the third country from where the procession
will pass. He said, " The torchlight procession will reach Yerevan
in September after Rwanda. In Tsitsernakaberd (where the Genocide
memorial is located) the torchlight procession will most probably be
held on the last Sunday of September. That day tree planting will be
organized in Tsitsernakaberd.

YOU MAY CHRIS THE BRIDE
Ben Spencer
The Daily Record
Published: Aug 16, 2007

Chris Evans made sure of a pucker wedding celebration yesterday by
planting a big smacker on new wife Natasha Shishmanian.

[grand daughter of Peggy Shishmanian]

The Radio 2 DJ pulled faces as he laughed and joked at a bash attended
by 200 guests, including ex-wife Billie Piper, in Portugal.

Chris, 41, and golfer and parttime model Natasha, 27, tied the knot
at a registry office in Guildford on Saturday.

But they wanted to have their vows blessed at a Catholic church at
Santa Barbara, in the Algarve.

Natasha, who is half-Armenian, yesterday wore a stunning white
floor-length dress and a garland of white flowers in her hair.

Her husband, who is worth an estimated pounds 44million, wore a white
suit for the ceremony.

The couple then travelled in a 1950s Pontiac to the Alambique
restaurant near Vale Do Lobo for their reception.

The venue has a special significance for the couple.

It is the spot where Chris proposed to Natasha and the restaurant
owner, Adelino Santos, is a good friend of Evans. Natasha is the DJ's
third wife.

He wed Billie in 2001, when the former Dr Who star was just 18,
in a pounds 200 ceremony at the Little Church of the West in Las Vegas.

They divorced on May 31 but remain good friends.

His first marriage to television presenter Carol McGiffen ended
in 1998.

Golf fan Chris met Natasha last August during ITV's celebrity golf
tournament The All Star Cup in Newport, South Wales.

The pair became inseparable and in June Chris sought the blessing of
Natasha's wealthy parents, Sarah and Aram, for the wedding.

Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute

Online exhibition at www.genocide-musum.am.

In occasion of the Forth Pan-Armenian games to be held in Yerevan in August 18-26, 2007.

The history of Armenian sport and Armenian participation in the Olympic games have deep roots. It's known that in ancient Armenia were organized Navasardian Games. Armenian kings Trdat and Varazdat from Arshakuni dynasty where the first Armenians who participated in the Olympic games.

Despite the segregationist and discriminative nature of the Ottoman governments Armenians played significant role in the social, economical and cultural, as well as sport life of the empire.The tradition of sport activity revived among the Ottoman Armenians especially in the beginning of the 20th century, before the genocide plan of Young Turkish government was implemented as a result of which the whole Armenian nation on the territory of the Ottoman Turkey circa 1915 was eliminated.

For the first time in the history of Turkish Olympic games, two Armenian athletes Vahram Papazyan and Mkrtich Mkryan had participated in the fifth international Olympic games in Stockholm in 1912.

Many Armenian teams and individuals permanently scored victories and records in the multinational and intercommoned competitions and championships.

The reason of the participation of the Armenian sportsmen in the Olympic games aimed to remind the world about the existence of Armenian nation suffering under the Ottoman Turkey.
It's interesting enough that from 1911 to 1914 four "Armenian Olympic games" were organized with the participation of all Armenian sport clubs. Winners of the competitions were awarded with silver medals.

Many Armenian sportsmen became victims of the first genocide of the 20th century.

THE GREAT WAR & THE SHAPING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/thenandnow/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_4_thegreatwar_2007-08-14


OVERVIEW

The after shocks of the earthquake we call the Great War are still being felt today, in the 21st century. In countless ways, World War I created the fundamental elements of 20th century history. Genocide emerged as an act of war. So did the use of poison gas on the battlefield. The international system was totally transformed. On the political right fascism came out of the war; on the left a communist movement emerged backed by the Soviet Union. Reluctantly, but unavoidably, America became a world power.

The British Empire reached its high point and started to unravel.

Britain never recovered from the shock of war, and started her decline to the ranks of the second-class powers. At the peace conference of 1919, the German, Turkish, and Austro- Hungarian empires were broken up. New boundaries were drawn in Europe and the Middle East, boundaries -- as in Iraq and Kuwait -- which were still intact at the end of the century.

Just as the war was ending, German Nationalists like Hitler gathered millions who rejected the peace and blamed Jews and Communists for their defeat. The road to the Second World War started there.

Even after Germany's second defeat in 1945, the shadow of the Great War was still visible. Then came the shock waves of 1989-91, ending the "short 20th century," an era that began with the great war and concluded with the collapse of communism and the reunification of
Germany in a robust European community. The German problem -- so central to World War I - appeared to be resolved. But other problems have emerged that are disturbingly similar to those that plagued the world in 1914.

WORLD TERRORISM by Jay Winter, Historian

"Terrorism was born well before the First World War. But its effects became worldwide in 1914. The assassination of the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne created the diplomatic crisis that ultimately led to the war. So it's the provocation effect of terrorism that I think was born in 1914."

In many ways the attack on the World Trade Center was a direct echo of that provocation. The intention was to bring about a military response that would in turn rebound against the power that responds.

In 1914 that was the intention, the intention was to force Austria-Hungary into some kind of violent reaction that would ultimately be to its detriment. And that is indeed what happened.

Whether or not the war on terrorism as a response to the World Trade Center attack is detrimental to the United States, has yet to be seen. But there is an idea that terrorism's provocation was born on the 28th of June 1914."

SERBIA EXPLODES AGAIN 80 YEARS LATER by Jay Winter, Historian

"There is no way to understand what happened in Serbia and Bosnia [in the 90s] without going back to the extraordinary events on the 28th of June, 1914 when the heir apparent to the throne [Austria-Hungary], the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated.

A series of violent events followed that marked the civil war within the Balkan States becoming even more violent in the Second World War.

And in turn, when the communist state of Yugoslavia unraveled in the 1990's, some cynical politicians like Milosovich tried to go right back to 1914. ... So the sequence of violent events in the 20th Century is like a fugue, with one instrument following another. And in the Serbian case, each one is worse than the one before."

IMMIGRATION by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"The emergence of new members in the European Union has revived anxieties that would have been familiar to anybody a hundred years ago -- of migration of Eastern Europeans to Western Europe -- when many Polish and Russian based Jews and other ethnic minorities were seeking
to escape from the relatively repressive regimes where they lived.

European politics are still in fact strongly influenced by hostilities to immigration... And whatever the rhetoric of European integration... the reality is that on issues like migration, national governments act with their perceived interests firmly in mind."

BOSNIA & RWANDA GENOCIDE by Jay Winter, Historian

"There are two ways of looking at genocide. The first is in terms of international warfare. And the other is in terms of domestic murder on a grand scale. The murder of the Armenians is both in 1915. It occurred in the context of total war, but it was also the policy of an independent state to eliminate inhabitants of its own population.

Now this precedent of a state killing its own citizens is one that Hitler used quite openly. And it is clearly what happens in Rwanda as well.

What's missing, and why it is difficult to make the contrast directly is that the two genocides of the Armenians in 1915-16 and the European Jews in 1941 to 1945, both were in the context of total war.

The two genocide's of the 1990's in Bosnia and Serbia as well as in Rwanda, are not in the context of international war. But the first two -- the First World War and the Second World War -- provided the precedent for the elimination of neighbours, and for doing so in such
a way as to make it impossible to live side by side in the future."

U.S. MONEY POWER by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"1914-18 was one of the great watersheds in financial history. The United States emerged for the first time as the rival to Great Britain as a financial super power. Possibly even in some respects, the United States overtook Britain. ... It's the point at which the United States firmly ceases to be a debtor and becomes a creditor nation -- the world's banker.

The fascinating thing, of course, is that that's no longer true. We live in a time when the United States has ceased to be a creditor. It ceased to be a creditor in the 1980's and became a world debtor. It's reverted to its pre-First World War situation of being an importer rather than an exporter of capital. So the legacy of the Great War in that respect seems largely to have expired and been expunged by fundamental economic changes."

EUROPEAN UNION by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"The idea of European economic integration and even the creation of a European Federation were in fact much discussed during the Great War.

... The European Union we know today would not have surprised anybody who was seriously interested in the future of Europe in 1917. ... The idea that it would have to begin with a Franco-German pooling of economic interests, particularly in the Rhine rural area, the pooling of ore and coal, iron and steel interests, was in fact first floated immediately after the First World War by French policy makers and industrialists. ... But it took a Second World War to show
that this was the only viable way forward for Western Europe."

BAGHDAD 2003 - Making the world safe for democracy by Jay Winter, Historian

"Baghdad 2003 has some shadows of the Great War... The first shadow is the belief that the victors carry democracy with them. This is an American idea from 1917-18. Woodrow Wilson believed that democracy was inherently peaceful and dictatorships, the kind that ruled in
Germany in 1914, were inherently hostile and bellicose. By insisting that Germany change regimes, there was a better chance of guarding the peace of the world than if Germany had remained a quasi-military dictatorship.

The notion that you can create democracy and therefore peace is Woodrow Wilson's. And George W. Bush is a Wilsonian. ... one that harks back to a period in which armed force brings democracy to those who are suffering under dictatorship."

The Language of Mass Death by Jay Winter, Historian

"The language used to describe a totally unprecedented vision of mass death is found in the Great War. Nobody had any idea what was going to happen once war between industrialized countries broke out. ... So the impossibility of understanding what was happening and the ways
in which to refer to it in 1914-18 -- and for years after -- produced all kinds of poems, novels, memoirs ... September 11th is relatively close to us. It probably is going to take years for people to work out what it is that actually happened. ... Traumatic memories can't be configured right away. ... 10 years, 15 years, 20 years down the line, some great works of imaginative literature and art will come to tell us the meaning of these [9/11] events."

Future Use of Military Force by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"The world hasn't moved that far from the age of the Great War because, fundamentally, national interest is still paramount. But what has changed is that European politicians have radically thought through the way that they pursue the national interest.

And the biggest change ... is of course that military power is of far less significance in European politics than it was a century ago on the eve of the Great War. European politicians are exceedingly reluctant to use military power. ...that is one reason why these former empires
like the French and Germans dislike the sight of other people -- namely the United States -- using military power as self confidently as the United States has done since September 11th."

What did we learn?

by Jay Winter, Historian

"I think we learned a great deal from the Great War. The first point is that as soon as international warfare is launched, nobody can predict the outcome. The second thing is that international war breeds civil war, and civil war is uglier than international war because there
are no limits. We also learned that the technology of warfare expands much more rapidly than the capacity of political leaders to control it.

And I think the final thing that the First World War taught us is that the easy access of individuals to democratic procedures is very fragile. Warfare suspends democracy. How high a price is victory?

That's a question we owe to the First World War. And the question is still with us today."

92-YEAR-OLD GENOCIDE UPDATE

Plenty of recent news on the politics-of-Armenian-genocide front.

First, the White House earlier this month finally withdrew its nomination of Richard Hoagland as ambassador to Armenia, after more than a year of New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez putting a "hold" on it, over outrage at Hoagland's refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. (The L.A. Times editorial board supported the hold 13 months ago, and accused President Bush of letting its foreign policy be "dictated by Ankara nationalists.") California Courier editor and man-about-Glendale Harut Sassounian reacts here; Rep. Adam Schiff chips in here, and for a more Turkish view, try here.

Meanwhile, House Resolution 106, otherwise known as the Armenian genocide recognition bill, just got its 227th co-sponsor. The Times has supported this in the past, but not so our sister paper in Baltimore: This is starting to delve into history, which is another way of saying it's not a question that belongs before Congress in 2007. The verbose, pompous (and, yes, pandering) resolution cheapens Armenian history, not the reverse.

But it's also not a matter over which the White House should be issuing a gag order. History is messy and ugly and is best served by free and robust discussion. Americans as well as Turks and Armenians should have the confidence to recognize that.

For an intriguing Armenian-diaspora take against the recognition bill, I can't recommend highly enough this Washington Times op-ed by Garin Hovannisian. Excerpt: As the great grandson of genocide survivors, the grandson of genocide historians, and the son of Armenian repatriates --
though writing, I'm afraid, without the sanction of the generations --I am insulted by that sticker. That Congress "finds" the genocide to be a fact makes the tragedy no more real than its refusal, so far, has made it unreal. Truth does not need a permission slip from the state.

As an heir, moreover, of an American tradition of limited government, I am annoyed that the legislature is poking into a sphere in which it has neither business nor experience: the province of truth. [...]

Congressional symbols of good faith will not do the job. When Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul flies into Washington to smear the resolution as a "real threat to our relationship" and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice slobbers back that Turkey is a "global partner
(that) shares our values," it isn't House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's problem.

Finally, no story about genocide-politics is complete without craven tales of Capitol Hill muckety-mucks-turned lobbyists, so enjoy the rambling apologia of disgraced ex-GOPer Bob Livingston, watch it again with the Armenian National Committee of America's rebuttal, and then grab some popcorn for this New Republic thumbsucker about the lobbying on Capitol Hill, particularly by Turkey's new best friend, the ex-perennial presidential contender Dick Gephardt. Excerpt: While the Turks and Armenians have a long historical memory, Gephardt has an exceedingly short one. A few years ago, he was a working-class populist who cast himself as a tribune of the underdog--including the Armenians. Back in 1998, Gephardt attended a memorial event hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America at which, according to a spokeswoman for the group, "he spoke about the importance of recognizing the genocide." Two years later, Gephardt was one of three House Democrats who co-signed a letter to then House Speaker Dennis Hastert urging Hastert to schedule an immediate vote on a genocide resolution. "We implore you," the letter read, arguing that Armenian-Americans "have waited long enough for Congress to recognize the horrible genocide." Today, few people are doing more than Gephardt to ensure that the genocide bill goes nowhere.

ARMENIA REGISTERS POSITIVE `MIGRATION BALANCE'
By Anna Saghabalian

Armenia's migration agency has posted data suggesting that the country
has seen a positive `migration balance' in the past three years.

Gagik Yeganian, Head of the Government-affiliated Department for
Migration and Refugee Affairs, told RFE/RL that currently Armenia has
more arrivals than people departing from the country.

According to him, while emigration, or the number of people leaving the
country, steadily exceeded the number of visitors by some 40,000 in the
late 1990s up until 2002, the situation has changed since.

The first positive `arrival-departure' balance was registered in 2004
when the number of people coming to Armenia exceeded the number of those
leaving the country by 2,718. The `positive balance' in the following
year made 12,000 people to reach 21,500 in 2006. Yeganian says the
growth tendency is observed this year as well.

Yeganian says despite the absence of complete data they can say with
confidence that some of those arriving in Armenia are former emigrants
and some of them return to their homeland to stay here.

The migration agency has also observed a significant year-on-year growth
-- within the limits of 15-18 percent -- of the volumes of passenger
transportation. According to Yeganian, this growth in the six months of
this year made 36 percent.



ARMENIAN FARMERS TO BE TRAINED UNDER U.S. AID PROGRAM
By Shakeh Avoyan

A local office overseeing the implementation of a multimillion U.S. aid
package has completed the selection of rural communities whose farmers
will be trained in how to manage their agribusinesses in a more
efficient way.

The Millennium Challenge Account ` Armenia (MCA-Armenia) on Wednesday
selected the timing during which villages will participate in the
training component of its Water-to-Market Activity.

The Water-to-Market Activity, implemented by ACDI/VOCA, Arcadis
Euroconsult, and their local partner VISTAA Plus, focuses primarily on
providing training to help farmers transition to more profitable,
market-oriented agriculture. The training programs within this activity
will prepare 60,000 farmers over a period of five years.

The training program is part of the $236 million Compact that the
Armenian government signed with the U.S. Government's Millennium
Challenge Corporation in March 2006

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Rudolf Perina said the MCA-Armenia has the goal
of reducing poverty in rural communities through ensuring a stable
economic growth.

`Armenia plans to achieve this goal through a five-year program of
strategic investments in rural roads, irrigation infrastructure and
technical and financial assistance to improve the supply of water and to
support farmers,' Perina said in his remarks.

Villages to be provided with training in the second, third, fourth and
fifth year of the program were grouped by regions and the Water User
Associations in which they are members. A total of 120 village clusters
-- usually one, two or three villages grouped together based on
geography and agricultural conditions -- were selected for year 2008, 77
for years 2009 and 2010, and 80 for 2011. A total of 69 village clusters
were included in the pilot phase. An additional 82 village clusters have
been identified as currently having inadequate water. They are expected
to be become eligible as water improves through irrigation
rehabilitation efforts.

To ensure fairness and transparency, random selection of the communities
was determined to be the best method.

Deputy Minister of Local Government Vache Terterian expressed his
satisfaction with the selection process, which he described as
transparent.

`It is a normal modern way of selection. It is important that all
communities are clustered primarily based on certain criteria,' he
said.

Representatives of village communities attending the selection process
expressed their satisfaction as well.

However, Farmers' Movement NGO president Sargis Sedrakian thinks
villagers need more tangible assistance than trainings today.

`Villagers are tired of advice and trainings, they want concrete
assistance in the form of technical means and equipment,' he said.
`Training is also important, but there are many problems that come
first.'

Sedrakian fears the Millennium Challenge funds will be wastes or at best
will benefit the local `feudalists'.

Vanik Soghomonian, one of the many farmers selected for the training,
admits he is a feudalist. `But only if a feudalist means a businessman
who creates something and provides people with well-paid jobs,' he
explains.

Porterfield battles to lead Armenia
Wednesday 15 August 2007

Having named his squad for the qualifier Coach Ian
Porterfield is hoping to lead Armenia against Portugal
despite currently receiving cancer treatment in
England.

The 61-year-old Scotsman left Armenia two months ago
to receive treatment for a cancerous growth in his
intestines but said that he is determined to return to
the Armenian capital for Wednesday's game as his side
seek a third successive UEFA EURO 2008' qualifying
win. "I want to be with my team and to try to fight
against such strong opponents despite everything,' he
said. `Portugal are one of the leading forces in
European football but can play our game."
Porterfield's 22-man squad includes two changes, with
FC Ararat defender Hrajr Mkoyan receiving a first
call-up while FC MIKA goalkeeper Felix Hakobyan
replaces the injured Gevorg Kasparov.

Armenia squad
Goalkeepers: Roman Berezovski (FC Khimki), Felix
Hakobyan (FC MIKA).

Defenders: Robert Arzumanyan (FC Pyunik), Karen
Dokhoyan (FC Pyunik), Sargis Hovsepyan (FC Pyunik),
Aleksander Tadevosyan (FC Pyunik), Vahagn Minasyan (FC
Ararat Yerevan), Hrajr Mkoyan (FC Ararat Yerevan),
Yegishe Melikyan (FC Banants), Ararat Arakelyan (FC
Banants).

Midfielders: Hamlet Mkhitaryan (FC Pyunik), Romik
Khachatryan (AFC Unirea Valahorum Urziceni), Artavazd
Karamyan (FCU Politehnica Timisoara), Levon Pchajyan
(FC Pyunik), Artur Minasyan (FC Ararat Yerevan), Artur
Voskanyan (FC Ararat Yerevan), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (FC
Pyunik), Samvel Melkonyan (FC Banants), Agvan
Mkrtchyan (FC Pyunik).

Forwards: Arman Karamyan (FCU Politehnica Timisoara),
Aram Hakobyan (FC Banants), Gevorg Ghazaryan (FC
Pyunik), Robert Zebelyan (FC Khimki).

THE GREAT WAR & THE SHAPING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/thenandnow/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_4_thegreatwar_2007-08-14

OVERVIEW

The after shocks of the earthquake we call the Great War are still
being felt today, in the 21st century

In countless ways, World War I created the fundamental elements of
20th century history. Genocide emerged as an act of war. So did the
use of poison gas on the battlefield. The international system was
totally transformed. On the political right fascism came out of the
war; on the left a communist movement emerged backed by the Soviet
Union. Reluctantly, but unavoidably, America became a world power.

The British Empire reached its high point and started to unravel.

Britain never recovered from the shock of war, and started her decline
to the ranks of the second-class powers. At the peace conference
of 1919, the German, Turkish, and Austro-Hungarian empires were
broken up. New boundaries were drawn in Europe and the Middle East,
boundaries -- as in Iraq and Kuwait -- which were still intact at
the end of the century.

Just as the war was ending, German Nationalists like Hitler gathered
millions who rejected the peace and blamed Jews and Communists for
their defeat. The road to the Second World War started there.

Even after Germany's second defeat in 1945, the shadow of the Great
War was still visible. Then came the shock waves of 1989-91, ending
the "short 20th century," an era that began with the great war and
concluded with the collapse of communism and the reunification of
Germany in a robust European community. The German problem -- so
central to World War I -- appeared to be resolved. But other problems
have emerged that are disturbingly similar to those that plagued the
world in 1914.

WORLD TERRORISM by Jay Winter, Historian

"Terrorism was born well before the First World War. But its effects
became worldwide in 1914. The assassination of the heir to the
Austria-Hungarian throne created the diplomatic crisis that ultimately
led to the war. So it's the provocation effect of terrorism that I
think was born in 1914.

In many ways the attack on the World Trade Center was a direct echo
of that provocation. The intention was to bring about a military
response that would in turn rebound against the power that responds.

In 1914 that was the intention, the intention was to force
Austria-Hungary into some kind of violent reaction that would
ultimately be to its detriment. And that is indeed what happened.

Whether or not the war on terrorism as a response to the World Trade
Center attack is detrimental to the United States, has yet to be
seen. But there is an idea that terrorism's provocation was born on
the 28th of June 1914."

SERBIA EXPLODES AGAIN 80 YEARS LATER by Jay Winter, Historian

"There is no way to understand what happened in Serbia and Bosnia [in
the 90s] without going back to the extraordinary events on the 28th
of June, 1914 when the heir apparent to the throne [Austria-Hungary],
the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated.

A series of violent events followed that marked the civil war within
the Balkan States becoming even more violent in the Second World War.

And in turn, when the communist state of Yugoslavia unraveled in the
1990's, some cynical politicians like Milosovich tried to go right
back to 1914. ... So the sequence of violent events in the 20th
Century is like a fugue, with one instrument following another. And
in the Serbian case, each one is worse than the one before."

IMMIGRATION by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"The emergence of new members in the European Union has revived
anxieties that would have been familiar to anybody a hundred years ago
-- of migration of Eastern Europeans to Western Europe -- when many
Polish and Russian based Jews and other ethnic minorities were seeking
to escape from the relatively repressive regimes where they lived.

European politics are still in fact strongly influenced by
hostilities to immigration... And whatever the rhetoric of European
integration... the reality is that on issues like migration, national
governments act with their perceived interests firmly in mind."

BOSNIA & RWANDA GENOCIDE by Jay Winter, Historian

"There are two ways of looking at genocide. The first is in terms of
international warfare. And the other is in terms of domestic murder
on a grand scale. The murder of the Armenians is both in 1915. It
occurred in the context of total war, but it was also the policy of
an independent state to eliminate inhabitants of its own population.

Now this precedent of a state killing its own citizens is one that
Hitler used quite openly. And it is clearly what happens in Rwanda
as well.

What's missing, and why it is difficult to make the contrast directly
is that the two genocides of the Armenians in 1915-16 and the European
Jews in 1941 to 1945, both were in the context of total war.

The two genocide's of the 1990's in Bosnia and Serbia as well as in
Rwanda, are not in the context of international war. But the first
two -- the First World War and the Second World War -- provided the
precedent for the elimination of neighbors, and for doing so in such
a way as to make it impossible to live side by side in the future."

U.S. MONEY POWER by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"1914-18 was one of the great watersheds in financial history. The
United States emerged for the first time as the rival to Great
Britain as a financial super power. Possibly even in some respects,
the United States overtook Britain. ... It's the point at which the
United States firmly ceases to be a debtor and becomes a creditor
nation -- the world's banker.

The fascinating thing, of course, is that that's no longer true. We
live in a time when the United States has ceased to be a creditor. It
ceased to be a creditor in the 1980's and became a world debtor. It's
reverted to its pre-First World War situation of being an importer
rather than an exporter of capital. So the legacy of the Great War
in that respect seems largely to have expired and been expunged by
fundamental economic changes."

EUROPEAN UNION by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"The idea of European economic integration and even the creation of
a European Federation were in fact much discussed during the Great War.

... The European Union we know today would not have surprised
anybody who was seriously interested in the future of Europe in
1917. ... The idea that it would have to begin with a Franco-German
pooling of economic interests, particularly in the Rhine rural area,
the pooling of ore and coal, iron and steel interests, was in fact
first floated immediately after the First World War by French policy
makers and industrialists. ... But it took a Second World War to show
that this was the only viable way forward for Western Europe."

BAGHDAD 2003 - Making the world safe for democracy by Jay Winter,
Historian

"Baghdad 2003 has some shadows of the Great War... The first shadow
is the belief that the victors carry democracy with them. This is an
American idea from 1917-18. Woodrow Wilson believed that democracy
was inherently peaceful and dictatorships, the kind that ruled in
Germany in 1914, were inherently hostile and bellicose. By insisting
that Germany change regimes, there was a better chance of guarding
the peace of the world than if Germany had remained a quasi-military
dictatorship.

The notion that you can create democracy and therefore peace is Woodrow
Wilson's. And George W. Bush is a Wilsonian. ... one that harks back
to a period in which armed force brings democracy to those who are
suffering under dictatorship."

The Language of Mass Death by Jay Winter, Historian

"The language used to describe a totally unprecedented vision of mass
death is found in the Great War. Nobody had any idea what was going
to happen once war between industrialized countries broke out. ... So
the impossibility of understanding what was happening and the ways
in which to refer to it in 1914-18 -- and for years after -- produced
all kinds of poems, novels, memoirs ... September 11th is relatively
close to us. It probably is going to take years for people to work
out what it is that actually happened. ... Traumatic memories can't
be configured right away. ... 10 years, 15 years, 20 years down the
line, some great works of imaginative literature and art will come
to tell us the meaning of these [9/11] events."

Future Use of Military Force by Niall Ferguson, Historian

"The world hasn't moved that far from the age of the Great War because,
fundamentally, national interest is still paramount. But what has
changed is that European politicians have radically thought through
the way that they pursue the national interest.

And the biggest change ... is of course that military power is of far
less significance in European politics than it was a century ago on the
eve of the Great War. European politicians are exceedingly reluctant
to use military power. ...that is one reason why these former empires
like the French and Germans dislike the sight of other people --
namely the United States -- using military power as self confidently
as the United States has done since September 11th."

What did we learn?

by Jay Winter, Historian

"I think we learned a great deal from the Great War. The first point is
that as soon as international warfare is launched, nobody can predict
the outcome. The second thing is that international war breeds civil
war, and civil war is uglier than international war because there
are no limits. We also learned that the technology of warfare expands
much more rapidly than the capacity of political leaders to control it.

And I think the final thing that the First World War taught us is
that the easy access of individuals to democratic procedures is very
fragile. Warfare suspends democracy. How high a price is victory?

That's a question we owe to the First World War. And the question is
still with us today."