The Bush Administration has been under pressure to let more Iraqi refugees move to the United States. Now the administration is getting ready to admit up to 7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September. But critics say the number of refugees being allowed to come to the U.S. is still too small.
Should the U.S. admit more refugees from Iraq?
Does the American government have a special moral obligation to assist individuals who helped the United States on the ground in Iraq? How many Iraqis should be admitted?
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Yes. The US should admit more Iraqi refugees. The US created this mess that they are in. The us should give the iraqi refugees refuge in this country 100%. It is not like they will blow up America or anything. Neighbouring countries should also be encouraged to take in Iraqi refugees. America will learn to accept them. You will see. Just like the same Iraqi refugees will take what they learned and seen in America back to Iraq when they go back and guard those oil wells with their lives.
Absolutely! I just returned from the UCC Annual Conference in NH, where we voted on a resolution, encouraging the US government to admit those who voluntarily risked their lives to help our forces in Iraq. To do otherwise is selfish and unworthy of our heritage.
Although many of us, Americans feel obliged to help iraqi refugees this does not solve the problem for those left behind in Iraq. The USA has to be more careful when admitting Iraqis and Middle Easterns into our country since these people have not been shy to voice in many occasions how much they despise us. We have to remember that they resent us for many reasons and by letting them into our country we are telling them they are right, therefore is ok to bomb us.
The refugees that are being considered are those who worked in support of the US in Iraq. They do not depsie us. If we do not help them because of the message it will send, they will be killed. Admitting refugees does not solve the problems for all Iraqis but it does repay those who put thier lives on the line to help us.
I believe that the U.S. should admit more refugees from Iraq. We went into their country and destroyed many lives of innocent people. We hear, everyday, the number of American troops who have been killed in Iraq that day, but has anyone told us the total number of innocent Iraquis who have been killed? I have never heard the number....and if the tables were turned and it was americans who were being killed...the story would be different. These people have had their lives turned upside-down by us. We need to help them recover as much as they can. They have no other way. This is one world and we need to help each other. We will see in the near future just how interdependent we are.
I agree with everything you say. I would also like to see daily totals (even if estimated) of Iraqis killed, along with daily totals of U.S. soldiers, Europeans, etc. I think Americans would get a better perspective on the true costs of the war to Iraqis if these numbers were presented to them on a daily basis.
Yes; it should be no surprise that Iraqis are fleeing for their lives and as we allowed Vietnamese to come here after that war we should allow Iraqis to save their lives by living here. The US administration through poor planning and arrogance has destroyed the Iraqi society, and I think even those who were not translators should be allowed to apply for refugee status here
Yes! Admitting those who aided us in Iraq is the least we can do for everything we have put them through. Does anyone know of a group that is working on this issue, either by advocating for their admission to the US or welcoming new Iraqi arrivals to the US?
Thank you for the useful resource. It's a great site.
Does anyone know of an organization in New Hampshire that is working towards finding solutions for the missplaced refugees of Iraq and other countries as well?
Yes and no, but mostly no. The US ought to admit more than they have over the last two years, I believe the number was in the range of 600-800 only, but the criteria needs to recognize extraordinary service and danger. It's a pretty naive and dangerous policy to say that anyone who worked for the CPA or MNF is at risk and hence eligible for refugee status. Everyone in Iraq is at risk, both those who choose to actively support insurgents, militias, political parties, whomever. And furthermore, the vast majority of people are in danger even if they try to remain apolitical simply by nature of their religion or ethnicity - imagine the Sunni family that finds itself living in a Shia majority neighborhood or Arabs driven from the north by Kurds. Let's also not forget that these people did pick a side whether motivated by the opportunity of steady employment or belief in the American ill-fated plans for the country. So a job with the MNF should entitle someone to not only an income but also a ticket to the US?
The US should absolutely and unequivocally support the Iraqi refugees. There lives have been completely turned upside-down as a consequence of the civil war which followed the invasion. The US has a direct responsibility for the mess that they have created.
As far as the Iraqi woman interviewed, my heart goes out to her. Please advise if US citizens can help her in any way.
How can the US have the gall to refuse her refugee status when she/her husband had to pay ransom to keep their son alive. Any parent anywhere in the world, would do whatever it takes to keep there children safe. If her family's action to pay ransom so her son is alive is questioned as "support and comfort to terrorists", the US's moral compass is all screwed up.
This war was a horrible crime and the US needs to do what it can to ease the impact for as many victims as possible. We caused the problem we have to fix it.
Al;
I believe the word is insurgents, not insurgence. Being at war with Iraq vs being at war with Iraqis sounds like the same thing to me. Maybe you're are implying that they don't have a government, and they don't have a nation. Don't be fooled - these people have had nations that go back thousands of years. They are masters of government, and ruling/organizing themselves. Just look at how well they are fighting. These are not random acts of violence. They are merely using a form of warfare we don't understand. So what else is new?
Kert
Absolutely Not.
As long as we are at war with Iraq, we should take in no Iraqi nationals. There is the exceptions naturally of POW's, but these personnel would be in guarded camps - isolated from the American population.
Remember, the flow of Vietnamese refugees began only after the Vietnam War had ended. Imagine if Vietnamese nationals were resettled here while that war was being fought! There would have been an outrage.
Imagine if Japanese nationals were brought into the US while WWII was going on. We had a hard enough time keeping tabs on resident Japanese.
Call me niave, but bringing Iraqi nationals into the US before this war is over, will be the quickest way to our defeat. I'm sorry, but there are smart things to do during warefare, and dumb things to do. This is a very very very dumb thing to do.
And it's the "these colors don't run" people, and the military families who have suffered the human losses. No US politican can look these Americans in the eye, and support an Iraqi refugee resettlement program.
We are not at was with Iraq we are at war with insurgence who are Iraqis. It’s not like WWII where we were at war with nations, that means the government and the people, in this instance we are only at war with people. Also our ability to track people has gotten just a smidge better over the past sixty years.
02/27/2008 5:36:04 PM
