Katie Couric's Notebook: Fleeing Iraq
Video: It's not surprising that millions of Iraqis - nearly FOUR million - have fled Iraq since the war began.
But of those four million, only about 400 have been allowed into the United States. Most of the rest are in Syria and Jordan.
Now, that's about to change. The State Department just announced plans to let about seven thousand Iraq refugees settle in the U.S. The Bush Administration is also pledging 18 million dollars for a worldwide resettlement program.
It's a start -- but just a start. Millions are facing an uncertain fate as a direct result of the war, and the ongoing sectarian strife. A humanitarian crisis is looming -- but one the U.S. can help avert. The chairman of the senate's immigration subcommittee, Senator Edward Kennedy, put it succinctly: "We have a special obligation," he said, "to keep faith with the Iraqis who have bravely worked for us, and have often paid a terrible price for it."
That's a page from my notebook.