Bully for Ambassador Crocker. He may be deluded about the Iraqi government but he’s got the US government nailed.

In a bluntly worded State Department cable titled “Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?” Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker noted that the Department of Homeland Security had only a handful of officers in Jordan to vet the refugees.

…the “sensitive” but unclassified memo, sent Sept. 7, laid out a wrenching, ground-level view of the U.S. government’s halting response to Iraq’s refugee crisis. Human rights groups and independent analysts say thousands of desperate Iraqis who have worked alongside Americans now find themselves the targets of insurgents and sectarian militias, prompting many of them to seek residency in the United States or Europe. …

In the Senate, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) will propose attaching legislation backed by a dozen lawmakers in both parties to a defense authorization bill this week; it would expand refugee and immigrant visa programs for Iraqis, including those threatened because they helped U.S. reconstruction efforts.

“Ambassador Crocker’s plea for help is the latest reminder that the administration has failed to adequately address the enormity of this situation,” Kennedy said in a statement, vowing to “cut through the red tape.” He added, “While we can’t solve the problem alone, the least we can do is our part to allow those at risk to resettle here.”

Aiding the Refugees

Write your Senators! Demand that every congress person who voted to authorize this war sponsor at least 10 families. So long as those families are in refugee camps they should be sent living allowances, with triple that amount set aside for their eventual settlement in host nations. When they arrive in the US the congress person shall be responsible for housing, jobs, schooling and healthcare until the refugee can find suitable employment in the US. The money for this sponsorship shall come from the congress person’s own income but not surpassing $100,000 per year. Any over that shall be taken from the Pentagon’s petty cash fund….

Print PDF