History's Judges

Vote by House Panel Raises Furor on Armenian Genocide - The House Foreign Relations Committee voted to condemn mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as genocide. The Committee shrugged off a vigorous campaign against the non-binding resolution by the Turkish government and the Bush administration, who warned that it would effect logistical support from Turkey relied upon by American troops in Iraq. "Modern day foreign relations problems like Korea, Iran and Russia are so messy and confusing", said Brad Sherman, California Democrat and a sponsor of the resolution, "it's much easier to make our constituents happy with non-binding resolutions that tackle historical evils head on." The Committee's agenda for the rest of the session is fully committed to an in-depth condemnation of British colonialism, with subcommittees toiling on native North Americans, Australian Maoris and the real vote getter, a decade by decade review of the British Raj in India. Committee leaders hope to squeeze in a special session for CSPAN - The Dutch in Africa - Forgotten Legacy of Terror.

Marines Press To Remove Their Forces From Iraq - Now even the Marine Corps commandant wants out of Iraq, although the Marines aren't running for home, just looking for work in Afghanistan. If approved the shuffle would leave the Marines as the dominant force in Afghanistan (25,000 marines are now in Iraq, 26,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan). The stated goal is to simplify the chain of command and use a fully integrated air/land force for operations in Afghanistan. There is absolutely no chance the commandant is thinking about getting the Marines out of what looks like a messy end in Iraq and into a war in Afghanistan that still has popular support and defined goals that US forces can achieve.