Pelosi Makes Political Misstep in Reversal on Armenian Genocide
The two meetings House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended before a vote on a resolution labeling the massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey a genocide foreshadowed the biggest political misstep of her speakership.In the hours before a House panel approved the resolution Oct. 10, Pelosi was told in a tense meeting with Turkey's ambassador that the vote would endanger his country's alliance with the U.S. She had a warmer session with an Armenian cleric and representatives of Armenian-Americans, who have a large presence in her home state of California. In both, she made clear she intended to bring the resolution to a full House vote.
Since then, Pelosi, 67, has been in retreat. Her vow to bring the
measure to a vote outraged Turkey, which recalled its ambassador and threatened to cut off the use of its military bases to resupply U.S. troops in Iraq. On Oct. 17, Pelosi said it ``remains to be seen'' whether the vote would occur
after more than a dozen lawmakers pulled their names from the measure and some Democrats asked her to drop it.
The turnaround is the first major failure for Pelosi, who has successfully
muscled through the agenda she set out when she became leader of the Democratic majority in January.