LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman. Winner 2013 Webby Awards for Best Political Website
May 18, 2013

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     chris hedges     economy     elizabeth warren     politics     robert scheer
Most Read

The History That Birthed the Tsarnaev Boys

Jerry Brown: California's Mystery Man

'The Daily Show': Stewart Slams Hypocrites Cheney and Rumsfeld

How the IRS' Nonprofit Division Got So Dysfunctional

Arctic Tundra ‘Will Turn to Forest’

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
 * NEW! * Arctic Tundra ‘Will Turn to Forest’
How the IRS’ Nonprofit Division Got So Dysfunctional
Recurring Nightmares? Wake Up and Take Action

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Act of Congress
Daily Rituals
The Girls of Atomic City

Digs

Truthdig Bazaar
Dateline Havana

Dateline Havana

By Reese Erlich
$17.90

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

More Insufficiently Grateful Iraqis

Email this item Email    Print this item Print    Share this item... Share

Posted on Jul 9, 2007


More bad news for the more than 2 million Iraqis who have fled their occupied country: The Bush administration, after admitting fewer than 800 Iraqi refugees into the United States in the first three years of the occupation, has failed miserably to follow through on its promise to admit 7,000 more by the end of September.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has sternly rebuked donor nations for not providing much aid to hosts Syria and Jordan to deal with what is already the largest refugee population in the world.


International Herald Tribune:

As Iraqis continue to flee their country in record numbers, adding to what is already the largest refugee population in the world, U.S. efforts to accept them are moving at a snail’s pace. Officials predict that at most only 2,000, or less than 30 percent, of the 7,000 can be processed by Sept. 30.

The delays are due to enhanced security vetting by the Homeland Security Department, which is overseeing the program to take Iraqis referred by the United Nations for resettlement in the U.S., officials said Monday.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

If you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy.

By cyrena, July 11, 2007 at 12:40 am Link to this comment

Comment#85754 by Louise on 7/10 at 5:49 pm

Oh Louise, this was an especially good one. Yes, our grandkids could do a better job. Even most of their parents could do a better job. I’m not sure what’s gone awry. (well, I do have some ideas, too lengthy to delve into obviously).

Still, you do pose a great mystery…WHY would these Iraqis want to come here ANYWAY? I’m willing to bet the it’s probably the best among worse choices, (or at least they would have reasons to assume that, based on the desperate circumstances that the Cabal has created for them. If given a real choice, I think they’d rather just have us LEAVE, and let them re-situate themselves on their own property.

But, that hasn’t been offered as a choice yet, and it doesn’t look like it will ever be, so this would be a next best thing. At least it seems so to them now. They could change their minds if they ever actually got here.

Report this

By Louise, July 10, 2007 at 6:49 pm Link to this comment

Why are thousands and thousands of Katrina refugees still waiting for help?

Why has flying in the United States become such a nightmare.

Why do you receive presents from your loved ones overseas that have been opened?

Why do we see such miss-management, miss-information and
general chaos regarding the borders?

And now, why cant “The Greatest Nation In The World” get 7000 people relocated?

Answers pretty simple. Because the greatest nation in the world is being run by the “Greatest Simpletons in the World” amazing, huh? How long do you suppose it would take corporate America to amass such a collection of Nincompoops?

Maybe that’s the wrong analogy.

How long would it have taken us to reach Europe following Pearl Harbor had we had to deal with what passes for leadership under the GOP and their darlings?

We’d probably have missed the whole war!

But, rather than simply single out the prez [I mean after all, if you are looking for fools to run fools errands they made the perfect choice] we need to single out Homeland Security. The idiots in the Justice Department that designed that boondoggle and the equally ideotic and self-important congressers who thought it was such a peachy-keen idea.

It’s a good thing they all have assistants and secretaries and aides and advisors, and those lobbyists to help them ... or the poor things would never be able to find their way home!

I personally don’t think it’s a good idea to have a bunch of emotional maturity quotient rejects running things in D.C.!

Our grandkids in grade school could do a better job!
Actually that might not be such a bad idea.
Our grandkids didn’t fail Kindergarten!

The real mystery is ... given we have totally destroyed their country, their homes, their businesses, everything they have, and probably a few family members ... why any Iraqis even want to come here!

Report this

By Mstessyrue, July 10, 2007 at 11:13 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Shame on the United States for the lack of help it has given to the Iraq Refugees.  The monumental problem of Iraqi refugees absolutely can not be ignored.  Worse of all, they are receiving no help from the US government, who has caused them this difficult and dangerous situation.  Violence and poverty surrounds these refugees.  Most of these refugees are running out of money, thus ending up in poverty.  The US, being one of the nations in the Millennium Development Project that pledged to end world hunger and poverty by the year 2015 is doing absolutely nothing to help these people.  The US started this meaningless war and has caused a rise in poverty for the Iraqi people.  According to the Borgen Project, an organization fighting global poverty, it only takes $19 billion dollars to end world hunger and poverty each year.  However, over $450 billion dollars has been spent on the war in Iraq with an estimated $2 million dollars per week.  The US is indirectly funding poverty and hunger in Iraq.  The war needs to stop and this country needs to steer its attention and goals to the direction that the rest world is in desperate need for.  This government needs to put aside political gains and end world poverty NOW.

Report this

By THOMAS BILLIS, July 10, 2007 at 3:32 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Giving our moron the power to go to war and disrupt these peoples lives was and is one of the largest foreign policy disasters in our history.When after the gulf war in 91 the Kurds and the Shia both listened to the first Bush and started uprisings we just watched as Saddam Hussein butchered both the Shia’s and the Kurd’s.Now our exit strategy is going to be to blame the Iraqi’s for two generations of Bush stupidity.Not giving those 7000 Iraqi’s access to our country says to the rest of the world that our word is nothing.How do you win hearts and minds if the people you are dealing with do not believe you?

Report this

By Debra Istvanik-Strotman, July 9, 2007 at 10:55 pm Link to this comment

Why is anyone out there surprised that Bush is not keeping his word on allowing 7,000 Iraqi refugees in this country by September 2007?

After so many lies, you now believe Bush because?

Report this

By cyrena, July 9, 2007 at 7:50 pm Link to this comment

Comment#85421 by Scott on 7/09 at 4:23 pm

In reality Scott, this is NOT a good time for them to try and navigate yet another desert crossing. They would only increase their chances of dying, which is what does in fact happen to many of the others who try to make their ways up from Mexico.

We never hear about them, (the ones who don’t make it) because of course we’re all concentrated on the ones who actually DO.

In the much BIGGER picture, I’m sure that all of these Iraqis, would much prefer to return to their OWN country, if of course we hadn’t destroyed it, leaving them nothing to return to.

Report this

By DennisD, July 9, 2007 at 7:47 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I guess the “Decider” is waiting to see which Iraqi’s make the biggest contribution to the GOP before he impartially selects who gets to come over. Let’s bring em here now, so we can fight em here too. It’s just part of the new Bu$h Inc. comprehensive immigration plan.

Report this

By vet240, July 9, 2007 at 7:17 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

After seeing the trouble with allowing members of the Muslim faith into Germany, France, and England I wonder how we will cope with a large population of Muslims taking up residence here.

I know that probably less than 10 percent would call themselves radical or extremist muslims.

I listened to one who openly admitted his devout and extreme belief in the part of the Koran which says all people must accept the faith or face annihilation.

He went on to explain how his followers would use the weakness of the Democratic Governments allowing freedom of speech to defeat them.

He stated that if the Democratic Governments gave up the right to their freedoms they would also win as we had adapted their religeous philosophy.

These radical leaders are about one thing, POWER.
In England while their freedom of speech was being upheld they were ignoring the rights of their more moderate brethren, and would take to the streets, intimidating moderate Muslims with threats of violence.

This is one time I think we need to think this through before we bring more here.

It is possible the Radical Muslims will eventually force the international community to drastically limit international travel for everyone in order to stop the spread of the radical Muslim movement.

In the past the Western world long held that the Asian Continent is a place of mystery. The Near East is much more so. Their Culture has been in place for more than three thousand years and the Muslim faith has been in existance since 625. Unlike the Christian movement which mellowed through the years to a great extent to a love movement, The muslims (some) believe they are to use any force necessary to gain compliance of the people.

If you think getting Latter Day Saints off your porch is hard, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Report this

By Scott, July 9, 2007 at 5:23 pm Link to this comment

They’d stand a much better chance of getting into the US if they went through Mexico.

Report this
Newsletter

sign up to get updates


 
 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
© 2013 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.