The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports,

Two Jewish congressmen are working to keep the Armenian genocide bill from reaching the U.S. House of Representatives floor....U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) and Stephen Cohen (D-Tenn.), as well as three other opponents of the controversial bill memorializing the killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I, spoke harshly of its implications for U.S. relations with Turkey at a news conference Wednesday in Washington.

"The Middle East is a tinderbox," Wexler said. "Our responsibility is to bring as much stability as is humanly possible."

Cohen added that passage of the bill would cause "real-time harm to real people."

Congressman Cohen claims that House Resolution 106 -- the Armenian Genocide Resolution -- would threaten our troops in Iraq.

This resolution is an affirmation of the American role in its humanitarian effort during the Armenian Genocide. It does not threaten our troops --Turkey does.

When I met with Congressman Cohen in August, I explained to him that Turkey has a tendency to use theatrics and bluff as foreign policy tools, just as it did with other countries that passed similar resolutions. And this is precisely what happened.

Turkey is now spending millions of dollars with PR firms and lobbying powerhouses to sway American public opinion with theatrics and fear-mongering tactics.

Turkey's tantrum reaction is unbefitting of a US ally -- especially an ally with such a record of unreliability.

In 2003 The Turkish Government rejected a US request to use its territory for the invasion of Iraq. Our military used contingency plans and shifted the war effort to other parts of the region. It was determined then that Turkey cannot be counted on as a reliable ally.

In 2005 Defense Secretary Rumsfeld blamed the inability to gain permission to invade Iraq through Turkey for the surge of the insurgency that our military faces.

Analysts from both the US and Turkey agree that the US can now do without Turkey, but Turkey cannot do without the United States. The economic and political costs to Turkey of cutting off American access are too great to even consider.

What we are witnessing now is outrageous. Turkey wants to impose a gag order when it comes to discussion of the Armenian Genocide. In essence, by acquiescing, we would be outsourcing our morality and foreign policy to Turkey. This is unacceptable.

I have pleaded with Congressman Cohen to do the right thing and support Res. 106 ever since he took office. Unfortunately while on a trip to Ankara he fell victim to the denialist Turkish propaganda. He was misled into denying the Armenian Genocide and misled about Turkey's role as a reliable ally. This is unfortunate, for he has access to the top analysts of the US government as well as to the knowledge of honest, self-respecting historians.

I believe he can still do the right thing and maintain his commanding record as a proponent of civil rights and human rights. Otherwise he will be perceived as inconsistent and insincere. He will also be known as a genocide denier, and I doubt Memphis would like to be represented by such views.