Bush Reels As Armenian Genocide Vote Passed

Congress today rejected a plea by the White House over a resolution officially recognizing as genocide the forced deportation and massacre of Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman empire.

President George Bush warned of the negative repercussions should Congress use the word genocide to describe the persecution that killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and forced many into exile.

"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass killings, and its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in Nato and in the global war on terror," Mr Bush said.

But the House foreign affairs committee, only hours later, voted by 27 to 21 in favor of the resolution. The measure now goes to the full House for a vote.

The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, had warned the resolution could set back Middle East peace prospects.

Its passage could also put US soldiers at risk in Iraq, the secretary of defense, Robert Gates, said, warning that America risked losing access to important supply routes. About 70% of air cargo for Iraq goes through Turkey.

However, the measure has strong support in the Democratic-controlled House, where more than half of members have signed on as co-sponsors, including the speaker, Nancy Pelosi. About half of the Senate has co-sponsored the measure.

The resolution calls on the president to use the word genocide during the commemoration of the killings each April.

Turkey has spent millions on lobbying to dissuade western governments from labeling the events of 1915-1917 a genocide.

The Turkish military canceled defense contracts with France last year when its national assembly voted to make denial of the Armenian genocide a crime.

While Turkey does not deny that many Armenians were killed, it claims the deaths were the result of widespread fighting.