U.S. May Not Meet Iraqi Refugee Pledge

Officials Concede Goal Of Accepting 12,000 Refugees By September Unlikely

(AP)  The Bush administration conceded Monday it may not meet its goal to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September, although officials stressed that remained their target.

With the monthly admissions rate hovering in the low hundreds for the past four months despite pledges to improve refugee processing, officials said they expected a boost in numbers toward the end of spring and hoped for a significant surge in the summer.

While January admissions improved slightly over December, to 375 from 245, the United States must still accept 10,568 Iraqi refugees in the next eight months if it is to reach 12,000 - the number the administration has pledged to resettle in the current budget year, which began in October 2007 and runs until Sept. 30.

"This is a tall order, but it remains attainable," said James Foley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's point man on Iraqis refugees. Still, he said: "We're not guaranteeing that we're going to reach 12,000. There is no way to guarantee that result."

The small jump in January ended three straight months of declines in Iraqi refugee admissions, which slid from 450 in October to 362 in November and 245 in December. It brings the number admitted thus far in fiscal 2008 to 1,432, which is nearing the total of 1,608 for the previous fiscal year.

Foley and Lori Scialabba, his counterpart at the Homeland Security Department, said the numbers would not rise to more than 1,000 per month for another few months. A monthly average of 1,321 is now needed to reach the 12,000 mark by the deadline.

"While we will not cross the 1,000 arrivals per month threshold until sometime in the spring, we are confident that we will have substantial numbers of arrivals indeed in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year, and thus we continue to aim for 12,000 by the end of September," Foley said.

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.

"A year ago, the United States made a pledge to address the Iraqi refugee crisis, and we have failed to keep that promise," said Kristele Younes of Refugees International. "In the president's last year in office, a real effort should be made to resettle the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees and provide assistance for those still in the region."

Some 2.5 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries, mainly Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, and about 17,000 of those have been referred to the United States for resettlement by the United Nations.

Despite improved cooperation between the departments of State and Homeland Security in refugee processing, admissions have lagged in part because of restrictions placed on interviewers, particularly in Syria, and the inability to process refugees inside Iraq itself.

New legislation signed by President George W. Bush last week allows in-country processing, and about 100 Iraqi employees of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and their families are expected to be interviewed by DHS agents this month, Scialabba said.

It was unclear Monday when processing might begin for Iraqi employees of contractors, aid agencies and other groups who are at particular risk.

[JoelB]

So the Administration thinks it is a "tall order" to let 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the US? Compared to how many the Bush Administration has created, let alone killed, maimed and foreced into other coutries, 11,000 isn''t a tall order, it is a drop in the bucket.

[krenz4]

gk99: Why dont you sober up and go vote? Do something to influence the future rather than smoke blunts and complain about the past? Good idea, Huh?

[speakinup]

gkc99 - ah yes one of those folks that believes in waiting until some event happens before they can be happy.

Well, I''m not crazy about any of the possible replacements, gkc99. Some are worse than others to be sure, but if we waited until nervana hit, well it would be a sad life.

cheers.

[gkc99]

No, gkc99, the question he meant to ask is, "What out of the ordinary are you going to do +--Posted by speakinup


That''s what I mean--usually it''s everclear and dried sumac leaves.

No, the happy day is coming when the Rush Limpdicks are going to realize that nobody cares what they think anymore--their nasty little circle jerk has come to an end--their tiny texasshole tyrant is a dirty piece of used toilet paper left on the toe tapper stall floor of history--all the human beings will be left with is a great big hole where all our money went to the Neocon scum and all our freedom was stolen by the Repugniscum vermin.

[speakinup]

"The day that little cockroach leaves office I''''m going to pour a big glass of fine bourbon, light up a 6 inch long joint of Hawaiian pakalolo, and put my feet up on the coffee table.Posted by gkc99


No, gkc99, the question he meant to ask is, "What out of the ordinary are you going to do ?"

[gkc99]

"gkc99 What the heck are you going to do after bush is gone? "--Posted by krenz4


The day that little cockroach leaves office I''m going to pour a big glass of fine bourbon, light up a 6 inch long joint of Hawaiian pakalolo, and put my feet up on the coffee table.

[michellem99-2009]

It wont be gone when he leaves office.

[fitedafuture]

all this talk bout immigration and refugees is making me dizzy...any one got any Dramamin?..

[closethippy1]

Bush can''''t seem to anything right. I''''ve waited 7 years for Bush to do something...anything that would make America a better place. Thank God Bush and his fake "family value" people will be gone soon.
Posted by vmcneal2 at 04:45 PM : Feb 05, 2008

2008 is going to be one long, long, long year, ain''t it?
But you know what? New Year''s celebration for 2009 will probably be the wildest its been since 2000, and I''m sure there''s a lot of people looking forward to it.

[vmcneal2]

Bush can''t seem to anything right. I''ve waited 7 years for Bush to do something...anything that would make America a better place. Thank God Bush and his fake "family value" people will be gone soon.

[crusherking]

gkc99..

You have no clue do you. I think you need a few more xanex''s.. Maybe some anti-psychotics too. Look, you are not mature enough to speak intelligently to the issues so why bother. Your mommy needs the internet to make her living so go back to your xbox and let the adults have an actual debate.. Besides, your bedtime is coming right after your din din.. You might want to play with your toy before you go night night. But hey, on the upside, you type really well for a 4 yr old.

[rushlimpdrug]

Ok, well yeah sure there was a pledge, but was there a definite time table.

And it was a "pledge" not a law.

but so anyway it isn''t like they''re ALL gonna die because the pledge is not kept.

geez.

[grazinggoat]

Re: "Some 2.5 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries, mainly Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt..."

The Butcher of Crawford has made these millions of people homeless, but a few of them have run out of money, and have been forced to return to Iraq.

Isn''''t this progress?
Posted by FeelFree1 at 09:00 PM : Feb 04, 2008

-FF1, don''t forget this:
More than one million Iraqis have died because of the war in Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to a study published Wednesday.

A fifth of Iraqi households lost at least one family member between March 2003 and August 2007 due to the conflict, said data compiled by London-based Opinion Research Business (ORB) and its research partner in Iraq, the Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies (IIACSS).

http://www.nowpublic.com/politics/can-you-explain-him

[inventagod]

gkc99 What the heck are you going to do after bush is gone? Pepole like you are going to go (further) nuts because all the little code words and secret vocabulary you made up and like to spout off will be useless. like: Neoconscum... Get a life!
Posted by krenz4

Krenz4 - What will we do after Bu$h is gone? First - there will be a huge party acroos this incredible counrty. Then we will get to work doing what we do best - putting America first. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we have had to clean up after Republicons before... The last thing we do will be to indict all those ''Neoconscum'' for their crimes against humanity. Oh, and listen to the worthless Bu$hScum crawl back in their holes for another twenty years.

[krenz4]

gkc99 What the heck are you going to do after bush is gone? Pepole like you are going to go (further) nuts because all the little code words and secret vocabulary you made up and like to spout off will be useless. like: Neoconscum... Get a life!

[michellem99-2009]

bushes not buses..sorry there

[michellem99-2009]

I have read every''s say on this issue..If I ''member Lewiston Me is over run with them..I recall the mayor was unhappy about it..I use to visit a blind friend there years ago. Every time America gets in a fighting mood she goes to town in the issue. Then we have to suffer while they get every thing. It stinks. A nother Nam. I was told in the 70s God help our asres if we go to war in the middle east. The buses are the ones to blame..it is over oil..whites have a bloody history..the church has the same. Now as always America must give give give..The message the hell with us..Thay is not right.

[lewiston14]

Gee, why can''''t another Middle Eastern country take them in? Wouldn''''t they be more comfortable in a setting more in line with their own customs?

Posted by olebd

Because they dont want them either DUH

[lewiston14]

clestes: 10,000 is a photo op at best, See what a nice guy we got. He could care less about them. I bet the army is ready to deploy all the troops to the oil rich areas. Reason we don%u2019t bother with places that have nothing to offer but more mouths to feed. Shut it all off now and let nature take its course. Now tell me im wrong

[gkc99]

"Well, in my eyes, you are the real terrorists. Show some backbone. If you have differences, debate, don''''t bash. Bashing is about as mature as a 3yr old calling his schoolyard buddies names. Thats really all you are doing. Grow up or shut up. The adults would like to talk now. "--Posted by Crusherking



No name-calling there! This is Neoconscum-type maturity! You''re a terrorist because you don''t buy into George Bushit''s lies and abuse!

So tell all your Neoconscum pals like Rush Limpbaugh, Bull O''Really and the rest of the scum-sucking pantheon of the American Nazi Party to shut the foock up! Then maybe your credibility will be somewhere above absolute zero.

Otherwise just shut the foock up yourself, a$$hole!