Iraqi refugees? Here? Forget it!
Over 2 million Iraqis have fled the country since the 2003 U.S. invasion. The monkeys in the Bush administration have been fumbling Iraqi pleas for resettlement in the states since almost the same time. According to this AP article, that continues - and all signs point to it continuing for the rest of the year:
Iraqi refugees are subject to more security checks than those from almost all other nations and the most Iraqis ever admitted to the U.S. in a single month since 2003 was 889 this past September.The administration has come under heavy criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers for its poor performance on admitting Iraqi refugees who have fled violence since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Many critics say, and Bush aides have acknowledged, that the administration has a moral obligation to Iraqi refugees.
In response, it vowed to fix the problems that include bickering between the State Department, which is in charge of refugee resettlement, and the Homeland Security Department, which must screen would-be Iraqi admittees, and a lack of cooperation from countries, notably Syria, where many of the estimated 2 million Iraqi refugees are seeking shelter.
Another example of Republican incompetence when it comes to running the country. Or maybe it's deliberate inaction? The president likes to talk about "fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them here." What if State and Homeland Security let in an "islamofascist" or three from Iraq? That blows his whole fight 'em over there strategy!
Before we invaded Iraq, I wonder if the president and his administration gave any thought to the fact that wars typically displace people, create refugee crises, and require other nations to take in those refugees. And then thought about who would have to accept and care for those Iraqi refugees. But who am I kidding? If there's one thing this administration is good at, it's not planning for the future.
