What's in a word?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is bringing a bill to the House floor that would call the forced deportation and eventual murder of over a million Armenians in World War I- era Turkey a genocide. On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 27-21 to pass the resolution, and now its destined for a full vote.

It's a profoundly sensitive situation because it would damage US relations with a key ally. Currently, Turkey is one of the few countries left with troops in Iraq besides the United States. Even more importantly, they are allowing the US military to use Turkish bases to get supplies into Northern Iraq. 70% of US supplies go over or through Turkey. Turkey has recalled its diplomats and said the resolution would do "irreparable" damage to American- Turkish relations; the president himself made clear that the House vote does not indicate his position, and implored Pelosi to drop the issue.

But she's pushing forward, motivated to act now because of the survivors' advanced age.

"When I came to Congress 20 years ago, it wasn't the right time because of the Soviet Union. Then that fell, and then it wasn't the right time because of the Gulf War One. And then it wasn't the right time because of overflights of Iraq. And now it's not the right time because of Gulf War Two.

"And, again, the survivors of the Armenian genocide are not going to be with us."

Armenian Americans have a powerful political lobby. I don't know their connection with the speaker, but they usually support Democrats, and their sole issue is recognition of this terrible chapter of history.

Turks insist that the killings were not organized or systematic, and many Turks died in the chaos of the period as well.