http://mediamatters.org/items/200710110005?f=h_latestSummary: Reporting on a House resolution stating that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against the Armenian people, numerous print outlets noted President Bush's opposition to the measure. However, none of those outlets mentioned that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America, according to a press release on the organization's website, in which he wrote that "
he Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension" and that if elected president, he "would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people."
Reporting that the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution stating that the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 was genocide, numerous print outlets including the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post noted that President Bush said the resolution "is not the right response to these historic mass killings." The Associated Press article on the resolution quoted Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns saying that the resolution's approval "was not an action supported by President Bush." The New York Times article also noted that Bush "carefully avoided the use of the word genocide." However, neither the Times nor the other outlets noted that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America in which, according to a press release on the organization's website, Bush wrote that "{t}he Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension" and that if elected president, he "would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people." Despite his pledge as a candidate to "ensure" this recognition, Bush does not appear to have used the term "genocide" -- or a variant thereof -- to describe the killings as president, according to a search of the White House website.
In an October 10 statement, Bush urged members of the House "to oppose the Armenian genocide resolution":
On another issue before Congress, I urge members to oppose the Armenian genocide resolution now being considered by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian people that began in 1915. 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.
A number of print outlets quoted Bush's October 10 statement or noted that he opposed the resolution. For example, from the October 11 Los Angeles Times article:
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