the new york times has a front page article about the iraqi asylum issue i blogged about a few weeks back. the last post quoted an op-ed piece my friend kirk, and kirk is quoted in the times article as well.
among the many things that gerald ford is being remembered for today is his decision to open this country up to some 150,000 vietnamese refugees. president ford thought that we owed it to vietnamese people who stuck their neck out to assist the american project in vietnam when that project fell apart.
thousands of iraqis have stuck their neck out to support the american project in iraq. as much as i personally think that project was doomed to failure from the beginning, the fact remains that iraqis have risked their lives by heeding our country's call. as iraqi descends into one large refugee crisis, we owe it to them to help and get them refugee status.
as the times article notes, the bush administration has not been receptive to claims of iraq refugees, permitting only 500 to resettle in the u.s. last year. the bush administration has not explained its reluctance to help iraqi refugee, but obviously the refugee crisis flies in the face of the happy face they usually try to draw on the country. nevertheless, i think this issue should transcend the politics of the war. regardless what you may think about the invasion, we have an obligation to help those iraqis whose life and family are at risk because they worked for americans. turning them away won't help us "win" in iraq and it might discourage others from lending the u.s. a hand in the future.
