Armenian Genocide Bill Approved by House Committee

Sometimes language really counts... the use of the word "genocide" can have important implications for foreign policy and the possibility of reparations. That's why Armenian-Americans are lobbying for a US resolution officially calling the 1915 to 1923 massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks an act of genocide. The Turkish government maintains that the deaths were part of the chaos of World War I, and not a government-endorsed attempt to eliminate an entire ethnic group. A US resolution labeling the act as genocide passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is on its way to a floor vote. The Bush administration is against the resolution, saying it will harm US-Turkish relations, with possible repercussions for the war in Iraq. Larry discusses the bill with Steve Dadaian of the Armenian National Committee, and Ara Khachatourian, editor of Asbarez, a daily Armenian-American newspaper published in southern California and distributed nationally.