The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response

Rating:
Summary: Recommended reading
Review: I was glad I bought this book on a whim at the airport. I bought it with the hope that some of the history in the region might help to clarify current events. I knew that there had been a genocidal campaign perpetrated against the Armenians by the Turks around the turn of the century, but I was not aware of the horror, in detail, that is outlined in this book. My only fault with the book is that it does tend to be a bit repetitive at times.

The author builds a very strong case, pulling in a wide array of evidence, to prove that the Turks systematically slaughtered the Armenians for religous and cultural reasons that seem very similar to Hitler's persecution of the Jews. The Turkish government needs to admit their role in the massacre of the Armenians, and that pressure now needs to come from an internal sense of morality in each Turk to atone for the sins of a nation. I am ashamed that the US has decided to forget the huge humanitarian outpouring by this nation and has balked at a full condemnation of the Turkish goverment and its peoples for the atrocity they committed in exchange for commercial and military interests in the region. I am even more ashamed that a nation like France, when subjected to the same coercive forces brought to bear on the US government, did not balk but instead ratified a national condemnation of the Turks for their resusal to admit to their role in the Armenian Holocaust. The cold war is over. The Soviet Union is disbanded. What sense does NATO make when it encompasses historically bitter enemies such as Turkey and Greece or France and Germany? We no longer need Turkey for its access to middle east oil fields. NATO bases are no longer imperative as a staging ground for operations in Iraq or to thwart the 'Red Menace'. What power can Turkey hold over us now? It is time Congress and the President finally stand up and call a spade a spade, condemn Turkey for its role in the Armenian Holocaust and their ensuing efforts to obfuscate and deny the truth.

Rating:
Summary: Genocide/ Hell
Review: This was an excellent book about a very dark gloomy topic. Clear concise language made the reading of such incredible butchery bearable. Balakian's tempered pen carefully and mercilessly moves from one razed Armenian village to another. The interwoven tapestry of American philanthropy and benevolence is a tear-wrenching study in kindness and futility. It is impossible to understand how in the face of such overwhelming documentation (oral, written, and archival) the Turks continue adamant - or are allowed to continue adamant - in their ignorance and denial. But what can you expect from the UN or the US when in the year 2004 the hell of Sudan goes unchecked. I highly recomend this book but be ready for very raw, unedited, inconcievable descriptions of hatred and bloodletting.