The USA Needs to Help Iraqi Refugees
The UN estimates that 1.8 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries to escape the civil war, and 100,000 refugees cross the borders of Syria and Jordan each month. It is quickly becoming the world’s biggest refugee crisis. There are also an estimated 1.6 million internally displaced persons in Iraq. In other words, 12.5 percent of the entire population has been forced out of their homes during the occupation.
What is the USA doing to help these 3.4 million victims of the chaos in Iraq? Besides giving them stuffed animals, I mean. According to Senator Edward Kennedy, the crisis is not being adequately addressed:
There is an overwhelming need for temporary relief and permanent resettlement. Last year, however, America accepted only 202 Iraqi refugees, and next year we plan to accept approximately the same number. We and other nations of the world need to do far better…
Our nation is spending $8 billion a month to wage the war in Iraq. Yet to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the refugees who have fled the war, the State Department plans to spend only $20 million in the current fiscal year.
Calls for international help may go unanswered, or be met with token efforts. Most of our allies in the Middle East and Europe opposed Bush’s attack on Iraq and feel no obligation to bear the consequences. Jordan, for example, is taking steps to turn away desperate Iraqis at the border and may not renew visas for many of those who have already resettled in Jordan.
This war has become way too expensive already. However, the USA has a moral obligation as an occupying power to do more to help civilians escape the violence and death we have caused.
December 30th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
God Richard, You are such a panty-waisted, tree-hugging liberal. You HIPPIE!
Who gives a f—k about the refugees - too chicken shit to stay in their country to help craft a democracy. Pitiful. Don’t they know this war will last AT MOST six (more?) months?
Geesh. These people have no faith in the Greatest Military on Earth?
Anyway, I’m glad the can’t come here. No asylum coming from democratic countries, sorry. Booo hooo.
Besides, they’ll never learn the language. It takes like 50 years for an Arabic speaker to learn English.
Oh yeah, and I feel sorry for you BUSH HATER!
December 30th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
Cliff– You forgot to ding me for quoting Ted Kennedy, who everyone knows is liberal scum. What was I thinking?
December 30th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
Oh heck, we can’t even place people victimized by Katrina in homes, what the hell are we to do with 3.4 million refugees, house them in every football stadium around the country?
Our job is to make work for the re-building contractors that are building back all the infrastructure we destroyed in the initial great victory. New schools, and markets, and hospitals(they’ll need those), and of course some trinkets for all the orphans.
The refugees had it coming because they didn’t depose saddam, the weaklings, maybe our kicking the crap out of them some more will toughen them up. Christ we had to hang saddam for them through our puppet maliki, he’s shia, more than willing to drop the lever. Do we have to do everything for them? Can’t they fix their own busted infrastructure with all the oil money they have now?
as for our troops, I quote Mr. T, I pity the fool… that be messin with our troops, cause they’ll pull the trigger til they get all those terrorist thugs. All the while making peace with the locals who don’t support the insurgency.
Team America… Yeah, coming along to save the mf’ing day yeah…. Terrorists your game is through, now you have to answer to Muricah, yeah..
December 30th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
Cliff, Is that you?…been hangin w / the milblogs too long, take a break, and happy new year t’ all.
December 30th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
Richard,
I completely agree that the most prosperous nation on earth can do a lot more to help the refugee problem we helped to create. It’s ironic that the Europeans aren’t fighting alongside us, but we aren’t being charitable alongside them.
And…by the way…who is this Cliff guy? Tell him to tone it down a little. Must be someone from ASP.
;-)
December 30th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
Sorry guys. I do need to take a break huh.
He wanna hear a cool story. I actually met Ted K a couple of times when I was a kid. Summers on The Vineyard etc.
One day, I was sitting out at the end of a peer/dock of the home where he was staying, and he walked out and started talking to me. I was 15. Next thing ya know, he was teaching me to tie a flying bowline (a sailors knot).
To this day, I can tie a bowline faster than you can say Chappaquiddick.
True story
January 16th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
[…] For more about the Iraqi refugee situation, see my previous post on the subject. […]
January 30th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
[…] As I blogged here a month ago, the United Nations estimates that 1.8 million Iraqis have become refugees in other countries and another 1.6 million are internally displaced as a result of the violence accompanying the occupation and civil war. In other words, 3.4 million people have been driven out of their homes in Iraq, which is even more than the estimated two million in Darfur. […]
July 18th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
we don’t need anymore terrorists here……
we have enough people here…..
stay where they’re at….
we cannot all fit here…
it is crowded enough with the overwhelming Mexican population!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!