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  • 411:1

    411:1

    Editorial, 31 December 2014


    "Turks and Armenians were lived together harmoniously for centuries.
    Then the ungrateful Armenians decided to break apart the Ottoman
    Empire and create an independent Armenian state. To prevent Armenians
    from destroying the empire which had done so much for them, the
    Turkish authorities sent them to Syria. The government also wanted to
    keep its Armenian citizens away from harm's way by moving them away
    from WWI theaters of war."

    For years this and its several variations have been top of the chart
    for Turkey's propagandists, apologists, and Genocide deniers. There's
    no doubt the tiresome sing-song will continue to be a hit next year as
    Ankara continues its inane campaign against the Armenians as the
    latter commemorate the centennial of the Genocide.

    Because third-party followers of the news don't know the truth about
    the above Turkish macabre tale and next year might give credence to
    the Turkish mythinformation, Armenians need to have a synopsis of the
    facts at their finger tips when they tell non-Armenians what truly
    happened. They need a narrative which is short, to the point, and
    accurate.

    The below statistics tell the truth loud and clear. They can be told
    within a minute or two--without confusing third parties with an
    avalanche of information.

    At the beginning of 1915 the Ottoman Army had 2,873,000 officers and
    conscripts. In addition, it had several thousand German specialists
    and senior officers. The Ottoman Army was a professional military
    force and was equipped with modern weapons mostly supplied by its
    German ally. It had machine guns and cannons, modern telecommunication
    systems and an infrastructure (ex. medical care, food) to carry on a
    modern war.

    In addition, the Ottoman Army was buttressed by recently-released
    convicts who were armed and given a free hand to eliminate the
    Armenians, including women and children. Lastly, there were the
    countless Kurds who were also armed and encouraged to kill the
    "infidel" Armenians.

    And how many Armenian fedayeen fighters were there at the beginning of
    1915? The highest estimate is around 7,000, spread across a vast
    territory. Unlike the Turks and Germans, they were amateurs and were
    armed with outdated weapons, home-made guns and had little ammunition.
    They had no modern communication network or medical support. For
    example, during the Van resistance, fewer than 1,500 Armenian
    combatants faced 15,960 Turkish soldiers in addition to Kurdish
    fighters. The latter had been given 24,000 rifles by the authorities.
    The Armenians had 505 rifles, 720 Mauser pistols, and a small supply
    of ammunition.

    Putting aside the uncounted number of Kurds, the convicts, the
    riff-raff, the Hamidiyes, and the Germans, in 1915 some 7,000 Armenian
    amateurs "fought" a professional force of 2,873,000. That's a ratio of
    411:1.

    Yet, according to Turkey, this ragtag handful of Armenian amateurs
    were about to break up the Ottoman Empire. To accomplish that fantasy,
    each Armenian fighter had to kill 411 Ottoman soldiers without
    suffering a single loss. Not even a superhero conflation of Hercules,
    Superman, Lawrence of Arabia, the Red Baron, Billy Bishop, and
    Hollywood fantasy heroes could accomplish that magnitude of kill
    ratio.

    There's a "kicker" addendum to the above facts: Armenians were
    considered by the Ottomans as the loyal ethnic group. Armenians meekly
    went about minding their own business. Overtaxed, abused, harassed...
    they bent their heads and obeyed the unjust laws of the Ottomans. But
    despite their loyalty and vast and diverse contributions to the
    empire, they were discriminated, oppressed, looted, killed...

    So why should Turkish authorities be surprised that some frustrated
    Armenians--a minute minority--would conclude that the only way to get
    the attention of the Sublime Porte was to defend their communities
    from quotidian Turkish depredations?

    The puzzle is that only 7,000 Armenians took up arms.

    Seven-thousand amateurs against 2,873,000 professionals.

    One against four-hundred and eleven.

    Some conspiracy to destroy the Ottoman Empire.

    Some excuse for eliminating a nation.

    Remember these statistics next time you hear about the "Great Armenian
    Conspiracy to Destroy the Ottoman Empire" malarkey.

    http://www.keghart.com/Editorial-411-1

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