Obama breaks promise to call Armenian killings 'genocide'

Obama, marking the upcoming Armenian Remembrance Day, called the massacre the first mass atrocity of the 20th century and a tragedy that must not be repeated.

Armenian-American leaders have urged Obama each year to make good on a pledge he made as a candidate in 2008, when he said the U.S. government had a responsibility to recognize the attacks as genocide and vowed to do so if elected.

Obama's failure to fulfill that pledge in his final annual statement on the massacre infuriated advocates and lawmakers who accused the president of outsourcing America's moral voice to Turkey, which staunchly opposes the genocide label.

Though Obama administration officials have debated using the genocide label in the past, this year's deliberations come as Obama seeks Turkey's assistance in fighting the Islamic State group — especially along Turkey's long border with Syria.

Obama's calls for transparency about the massacre played a prominent role in his presidential campaign, held up by Obama as an example of the type of sorely needed straight talk about foreign affairs and historical events.