A resolution passed by a U.S. House of Representatives committee, labeling a decades-old incident as "genocide," has angered Turkey.

The use of just one word is causing a big problem between the U.S. and Turkey. But it is a very serious word: genocide, which means when one group of people tries to kill all the members of another group of people, usually because of race, ethnicity, or religion. The event in question happened more than 90 years ago, but it still deeply troubles the nations involved. Starting in 1915, about 2 million Armenians, people from a small country next to Turkey, were driven out of their homeland by Turks, and more than 1 million were killed. Turkey does not disagree that many, many Armenians died, but it has long differed with most of the rest of the world on the reason for the deaths. Now a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill, called a "resolution," calling the Armenian killings genocide. This has made people in Turkey extremely angry. They have always said the Armenian deaths were largely the result of civil war and conflict. That was a very bloody time in history, as World War One, a very complicated war involving many countries, was taking place. Why do you think the Turkish people are so concerned about what people think about such a long-ago event?

Those in favor of the bill, who include many Armenian-Americans, say this move is long overdue. But many Americans are against this bill, including President Bush. Mr. Bush is worried because Turkey is a strong supporter of the U.S. This is especially important now because of the war in Iraq. Turkey lies just north of Iraq, and the U.S. moves many of its supplies through Turkey. Can you find Turkey, Armenia, and Iraq, on the map?