In the predictable fallout over the House Foreign Affairs Committee passage of HR252, the “Armenian Genocide Resolution”, last week, contrary rhetoric has retorted itself into an irritant popularly expressed but shallow in concept.

A significant report recently released by Policy Forum-Armenia, a collective of economists, political scientists, journalists, legal experts and others from 10 countries, calls on Armenia and Diaspora to seek to reclaim common philosophical ground that has been eroded by political/civil upheaval of 2008 and by the ongoing debate of Armenia-Turkey rapprochement.

Its release unfortunately overshadowed by the dramatic vote of the U.S. Congress committee on House Resolution 252, the PFA report contains thoughtful, academic observations and reaches conclusions that offer timely application as the whole of Armenia face challenges that demand unified response.

Yerevan, Armenia ain’t Washington, D.C., any more than this newsroom is a Congressional Committee hall.

But in the world we live in here, most accept what nobody, there, is saying. This:

“Normalization” talks between Armenia and Turkey, failed quite a while before a late-afternoon vote in D.C. had congresspersons talking about that possibility.

Not since last October, when State Department led “protocols” offered promises that soon became impossible to fulfill, has there been reasonable belief that Armenia and Turkey were skipping hand in hand on a yellow brick road to lollipops and Technicolor dreams.

Immediately following Thursday’s dramatic House Foreign Affairs Committee vote approving House Resolution 252 affirming the Armenian Genocide, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the resolution should go no further.

By a tense and, for some, shocking vote of 23-22 the United States Congress House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved House Resolution 252 calling for affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

As lobbyists and analysts waited while other votes were taking place on the House floor, the “nay” votes outnumbered “yea” until the Armenian side captured the last three votes (with one member not voting).

The United States government is again being asked to endorse a phrase that might heal an ally: “Armenian Genocide”.

It isn’t likely to happen. Surely not while Armenia and Turkey are at least making overtures of neighborliness.

If not clear before, it should be crystal, now, that Turkey has no intention (if it ever did) of following through with the foreign policy protocols that have served an opposite purpose to their intended cause of reconciling enemies.

The Scottish poet Robert Burns (“My love is like a red, red rose . . . “) never made it to Armenia during his life (1759-1796), but his memory is raised here every year when Scots and pretend-Scots gather for “Burns Night”.

An Armenian rescue team on standby since last Thursday, has still not deployed to Haiti, nearly a week after the devastating earthquake and massive loss of life for which some 30 other rescue teams are now on the ground.

One of the most influential Armenian lobbying groups in America has accused US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of stacking the deck in favor of a friendly audience according to the list of organizations invited for a February dialogue with the stateswoman.