TURKISH DIPLOMATS EXPRESS FEAR OVER SENATOR BIDEN'S CHAIRMANSHIP OF FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE

[gateley]

(This is from 2001. It speaks highly of Joe's commitment to human rights. I found this while looking to see if he's made a statement regarding Turkey's latest bombing of Northern Iraq.)

Defense News Reports Growing Anxiety that Human Rights Objections May Block Proposed Multi-Billion Dollar Attack Helicopter Deal

WASHINGTON, DC -- Sources inside Turkish military and diplomatic circles have told the weapons-industry trade publication Defense News that Senator Joseph Biden's ascension to the chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee threatens to allow human rights considerations to restrict the flow of U.S. arms to Turkey, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"We welcome Senator Biden's chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee as a positive, but long overdue, step toward demanding accountability from the Turkish military regarding internationally accepted human rights standards," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "It appears as well that Senator Biden's chairmanship will serve as a powerful impetus for officials at the departments of State and Defense to ensure that all U.S. laws governing the international sale of U.S. weapons - including the Leahy Law - are honored - both in letter and spirit."

Defense News correspondents Umit Enginsoy and Burak Ece Bekdil described Senator Biden in their June 18-24 edition as a "prominent critic of weapons transfers to the Turkish army." They quoted an unnamed Turkish diplomat in Washington as saying that, based on Senator Biden's "previous voting record and his attitude toward Turkey," he was concerned that he "could move to block the planned sale of U.S. attack helicopters to Turkey." A Turkish diplomat in Ankara told Defense News that "Biden's new position will inevitably cause problems each time we shall seek an export license for U.S.-made weaponry... However we wish to believe the tripartite strategic alliance between Turkey, U.S., and Israel should prove quite unbreakable one-man show."

More... http://www.anca.org/press_releases/press_releases.php?prid=87

[PatSeg]

1. That's very impressive!