ABSTRACT
The infamy of executing the century's first full-scale ethnic cleansing belongs to Turkey's Young Turk government during World War I. In their highest councils, Turkish leaders decided to exterminate every Armenian in the country, whether a front-line soldier or pregnant woman, famous professor or high bishop, important businessman or ardent patriot. Armenians had been subject to genocidal massacres before, although nothing so systematic or ambitious. Throughout the previous century, Moslem Turks commonly committed such massacres, often with the connivance of the Ottoman government. The largest of these was under Sultan Abdul Hamid during the years 1894 to 1896, when the Turks killed from 100,000 to over 300,000 Armenians. There was a convenient excuse for eliminating the Armenians, Most of them lived near the eastern border with Russia, and Armenian Russians were fighting in Russian forces. Finally the Turks could deal with the remaining able-bodied Armenian men and launch the ultimate genocide.
