Kicking off Young America/Young Turkey at Logan's Tavern

So the first meeting of the Istanbul Policy Center  and Atlantic Council's Young Turkey/Young America
program

Occurred at that venerable center of power in D.C the well-heeled watering hole
In this case the bar in question was Logan Tavern where we were wined-and-dined(as opposed to Turkey where I assume I will be Turkish Coffee-and-dined) on the Atlantic Council’s dime.

After a few horus of pleasantries we broke into disscussion about the presseing issue in American-Turkish relationship? Energy? Iraq? Iran? Afpak? The Eu? Ofcourse not! the most pressing issue in U.S -Turkish relations in March 2010 are the events of 1915, The Armenian Genocide.

 A horrible crime that took place long before myself, my parents or any of the senators who voted on the issue in the Senate Committe of Foregin Relations were born.

I asked my Turkish colleagues why does Modern Turkey feeel the need to wallow in the Ottoman Empire? Wouldn't it be easier to just accept the Genocide as the crime of a elite clique of Turkish nationalists bent on hijacking the compartive tolerance of the Ottoman Empire in the name of Turkish nationalism?

Oncur Sen responded that in this part of the world Greece, Turkey, Armenia insults are not forgotten so easily.

For this reason the Armenian Genocide resolution in the Senate recived live television coverage in Turkey. Fulya Ozerkan  a reporter with the Turkish Hurriyet(Freedom) newspaper told us that the paper didn’t go to bed until the vote was finished. The issue was huge in Turkey.

The Americans at my table were quick to point out that in the U.S know one really followed it the BBC was the first to break the story.

“You say Turkey in the United States and most people will think of some fond Thanksgiving memory” I told my colleagues. A frank comment that drew laughs from both the Americans and Turks.