New Jersey's Fools...

Charles Krauthammer has a brilliant column in today's Daily News, where he dissects the sheer stupidity of the United States Congress in pushing their unnecessary "Armanian Genocide Resolution", and the potentially catastrophic events that are now unfolding as a result. He calls out in particular a New Jersey Congressman for inanity of historical proportions, and we regret to inform you that this Congressman is a Republican. Nevertheless, the story must be told.

First, some background if you haven't been following the strange machinations of Pelosi's inept Congress.

A House vote to label the century-old deaths of Armenians as genocide was in jeopardy Tuesday after several Democrats withdrew their support and sounded alarms it could cripple U.S. relations with Turkey.

....at least six Democrats withdrew their sponsorship of the bill ...they feared backlash from Turkey would cut off U.S. access to a critical air base.
"More than half of the cargo flown into Iraq and Afghanistan comes through Incirlik Air Base ...," the lawmakers wrote.

...In response to last week's approval of the resolution by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Washington back to Ankara for consultations and asked the Bush administration to stop the resolution from passing in a final floor vote.

There are some (many, actually) who feel this is a back door way for Pelosi to force a troop drawdown in Iraq - namely, by engineering an elimination of their key supply route. Krauthammer will address that later, but first, he takes on the San Fran Nan:

How does this work? Pelosi says: "Genocide still exists, and we saw it in Rwanda; we see it now in Darfur." Precisely. And what exactly is she doing about Darfur? Nothing. Pronouncing yourself on a genocide committed 90 years ago by an empire that no longer exists is Pelosi's demonstration of seriousness about existing, ongoing genocide?

Indeed, the Democratic Party she's leading in the House has been trying for months to force a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq that could very well lead to genocidal civil war. This prospect has apparently not deterred her in the least.

Now here is New Jersey's shame:

"Friends don't let friends commit crimes against humanity," explained Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that passed the Armenian genocide resolution. This must rank among the most stupid statements ever uttered by a member of Congress, admittedly a very high bar.

Er...did some one bother to inform Smith that this genocide occured almost one hundred years ago? That there is likely no one alive in Turkey that took part in this atrocity? That the genocide was actually committed by the Ottoman Empire, an government that allied itself with America's enemies in WW I ?

How embarrassing. I realize that it is tough being an elected Republican in a blue state, and that all sorts of compromises must be made to maintain this position, but it is absolutely unacceptable to put America's soldiers in a position of losing all logistical support mid-war in order to gain brownie points with your constituents. Shame on you, Chris Smith! A Republican should know better...

Finally, we'll go back to Nancy Pelosi; and I'll let Mr. Krauthammer make his final point:

Is the Armenian resolution her way of unconsciously sabotaging the U.S. war effort, after she had failed to stop it by more direct means? I leave that question to psychiatry. Instead, I fall back on Krauthammer's razor (with apologies to Occam): In explaining any puzzling Washington phenomenon, always choose stupidity over conspiracy, incompetence over cunning. Anything else gives them too much credit.

Ouch.