"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
- U.S. Statue of Liberty
Nearly five years after the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, the U.N. estimates more than 4 million Iraqis have been forced to flee their homes. The Bush administration has repeatedly acknowledged a 'moral obligation' to those displaced, but so far its reaction has been pathetic at best.
The U.S. had pledged to admit 7 ,000 Iraqi refugees by September, but fell far short of that goal, granting only 1,608 visas ahead of deadline.
The State Department has since upped the goal for next year, pledging to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September 2008.
But the latest figures released last week show they're off to a slow start, accepting 450 refugees in October and only 362 last month.
The State Department has since upped the goal for next year, pledging to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September 2008.
But the latest figures released last week show they're off to a slow start, accepting 450 refugees in October and only 362 last month.
Do the math, folks - the U.S. needs to admit an average of 1,000 people every month to meet its target. What's more, all this talk of 'bureaucratic roadblocks' is starting to get really old.
Four million displaced .. 2,240 admitted.
That's in stark contrast to the 675,000 refugees from Vietnam who were admitted after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
It's a massive country, the United States. Frankly, it ought to be ashamed.
1 comments:
Amen.
Btw, on a related subject, I have heard that an offer of US citizenship is a highly effective weapon in recruiting informants within al Qaeda and Taleban. By many, it is valued far more than money alone.
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