It’s been clear for several days that the House of Representatives was going to defer consideration of the controversial resolution to officially recognize the Armenian genocide. The New York Times carries the obituary today. How quickly did the U.S. relationship with Turkey get ‘back to normal?’ Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Lantos introduced legislation on Monday to transfer four decommissioned Navy ships to Turkey, and the Committee approved the bill on Tuesday. Navy Times has the story:
According to Navy Times, the four ships are valued at about $500 million altogether. Turkey will pay $28 million, but will pay for refurbishment at U.S. Navy Yards, as well as purchase accompanying equipment–such as helicopters. It’s a sign of the close relationship between the U.S. and Turkey that this transfer is expected to go through without a hitch, notwithstanding the recent kerfuffle. As Navy Times notes, the U.S. has granted eight Perry class ships to Turkey in recent years, in a move to bolster its influence (as well as to increase sales of accessories). And before you jump to conspiracy theories about the transfer being some payoff related to the spiking of the genocide bill, the deal has been in the works for months. Senator Biden introduced identical legislation in June, and it was approved in committee in July.
