News and Politics | September 12, 2008 | 57 comments

Tens of thousands of Iraqis to be welcomed in U.S. in '09

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080912/ts_nm/iraq_usa_refugees_dc

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Pericles_Lewnes
The United States has surpassed its goal of admitting 12,000 Iraqi refugees this year and expects more, perhaps tens of thousands, next year, the State Department said on Friday.

The United States expects to admit a minimum of 17,000 Iraqi refugees in fiscal 2009, which begins October 1, the department's senior coordinator for refugees said. Thousands more Iraqis and their family members could arrive via a special visa program for people who worked for the United States or its contractors.

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57 comments // Tens of thousands of Iraqis to be welcomed in U.S. in '09

  • arcticspirit
    • 0
      arcticspirit  
    • Image

    • This is good. Despite the progress, there are fresh reports of political prisoners, and rescue of such is merely humane.

      This was found last December:
      Iraq Torture House Found

      BAGHDAD (AP) - Blood-splotches on walls, chains hanging from a ceiling and swords on the killing floor—the artifacts left a disturbing tale of brutalities inside a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq torture chamber. But there was yet another chilling fact outside the dirt-floor dungeon. Villagers say they knew about the torment but were too intimidated by extremists to tell authorities until now.

      Stories such as these—claims of insurgent abuses and the silence of frightened Iraqis—have emerged with increasing frequency and clarity recently as U.S.-led forces push deeper into former extremist fiefdoms and forge alliances with tribes seeking to reclaim their regions.

      The reports and tips now pouring in build a harrowing portrait of rule under al-Qaida and its backers: mass graves, ruthless punishments, self-styled Islamic courts ordering summary executions.

      The floor was littered with food wrappers, plastic soda bottles and electric cables that snaked to a metal bed frame, presumably where detainees were shocked, according to the U.S. account of the discovery during a Dec. 8-11-07 mission.

      The rooms "had chains, a bed—an iron bed that was still connected to a battery—knives and swords that were still covered in blood," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq.

      Nearby were nine mass graves containing the remains of 26 people, he said.

      Villagers knew about the torture site, but did not tell authorities as they were afraid of reprisals from the militants, a local policeman told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was still afraid of being targeted by extremists.

      He said he thought the chamber had been used for a year.

      It was not the first such torture chamber discovered in Iraq. But it serves as a reminder of the extremist grip in parts of Iraq despite growing optimism as violence continues to fall.

      It was not the first apparent torture site found after U.S. forces moved into former extremist strongholds.

      In March, U.S. troops discovered a similar site in the village of Karmah just west of Baghdad that was used by Sunni insurgents for torture and summary executions. They rescued two Iraqi captives, who apparently had been spared immediate execution because the militants' video camera broke and they wanted to film the killing.

      The captives told U.S. soldiers they had been sentenced to death by an insurgent court and had the choice of either beheading or a fatal gunshot.

      Both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia death squads regularly torture their captives before killing them—sometimes with power drills. Most of the hundreds of bodies that have turned up in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq show signs of torture.

      Copyright 2007 The Associated Press

    • 3 years ago
  • blackdaylight
  • marmar1
    • 0
      marmar1  

    • why cant america just worry about themselves?

      george w. bush has screwed our country, he doesnt need to screw others..

    • 3 years ago
  • peacelover
    • 0
      peacelover  

    • Tey will come here as poor kids but there's nothing like the grudge of Arabian people. They're well known or it in the middle east. An eye for an eye they believe in and always will. If you want to help why dont we help Irany, who was torn to shreds by the Iraqis and the rest of the Arab wolrd for 8 years while they were taken over by the Ayatollah Khomeyini. They were suppresses by the so called Hisbollah and sufficated by every one else with our help ofcource!!
      We call them the mother of all terrorists, when in fact the people inside have only suffrered. All the older men have been mutilated! the popultion is about 30 years olds which were born during the Iranian revolution. Why dont we help them too while were at it? We distroyed their lives more years than Afganestan or Iraq.
      I believe in peace on earth for all of us. I know we have so many major problems like Cancer, Aids, World hunger or God's sake, but mark my words fellow Americans, the Iraqis we're letting in are like nurishing our distructors under own own wings, and this will surley not be the way. Not to mention sir are you going to pay fo their electricity water food & shelter? Because most os us here are having a hard time covering our own!

    • 3 years ago
  • AreOh
    • 0
      AreOh  

    • I'm with Saladin. The ignorance is simply astounding. You can disguise it as 'concern' for our country all you want, but it is simply reckless ignorance and unsubstantiated fear. This situation is no different from what happens EVERY YEAR. And the assumption here is that those that will be admitted are simply poor and have no skills. Anyone with any familiarity with the immigration process knows this simply is not the case. Seriously, pick up a book and stop talking from your rank ignorance and fear. You are just embarrassing yourself and adding to the ignorant American stereotype....

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • AreOh:

      Well if they were rich, they wouldn't be refugees, would they. The Iraqi government has $79 billion they don't know what to do with. They have the oil. Why can't they use some of that money to feed and cloth and shelter these people. Oh no, once again it's the American taxpayer to the rescue. Never mind we don't have jobs, forget that we don't have health care, just come on in, we got you covered.

    • 3 years ago
  • AreOh
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • AreOh:

      I am fine with immigration if we can afford it but we can't. Unemployent is the highest it's been in years, foreclosures are at record levels, another bank or stock brokerage fails every week, at some point we have to say enough is enough. If we don't, we will be the ones that are the refugees.

    • 3 years ago
  • AreOh
    • 0
      AreOh  
    • AreOh:

      John the two are not related, only in the fact our economy is in a poor state because we are hemorrhaging billions in the occupation of their country. In fact, few things boost an economy more than the introduction of skilled workers, which leads to better service, with leads to money being spent for those better services. It would seriously help if you reviewed immigration laws and ordinances. We just do not let people in randomly.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • AreOh:

      So you would rather see their skilled workers employed than ours. They have more money then we do, what do you not understand about that.

    • 3 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  

    • Wow, I can't believe some of the comments in this thread.

      You guys are aware that there are immigration quotas right? The same amount of people come in every year regardless. Such astounding ignorance and racism.

      After making over a million people homeless in their country, this is the LEAST we can do.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • Saladin:

      Oh stop. Just stop playing the race card. They have a 79 BILLION dollar budget surplus, how many houses could they build with that? They're the ones with the oil! We don't have enough jobs for our own people, what are they going to do?

    • 3 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • Saladin:

      "Weren't we fighting them there so we wouldn't have to fight them here? Now we are going to let them come here. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it."

      You ARE a stupid racist fuckwit John. At the very least you give off that impression.

      The day this country becomes so "conservative", and I use that term very loosely, that we can't accept some political refugees is the day we stop becoming America.

      This is a country of IMMIGRANTS you dumb FUCK. Yourself included! What makes America strong is its commitment to individual liberty and self-reliance and not to race or nationality.

      Fuck man, listen to yourself! They're all gonna end up on welfare? How disgusting is that comment? Not only is it completely unsubstantiated, it is in fact, CONTRADICTED by the evidence!

      Pull your head out of your ass man.

      How many times are we gonna have this fucking debate in our country? First it was Slavs and Germans and Irish, then the Chinese and the Japanese. It never fucking ends.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • Saladin:

      Have you seen the unemployment rates lately? We don't have enough jobs for ourselves! What do you think they are going to do? It's not racism, it's common sense. And in case you haven't noticed, we're broke. If we keep buying out banks, we're the ones that are going to be the refugees.

    • 3 years ago
  • ScreamingDinosaur
  • JohnA
  • Nuevarine
  • JohnA
  • Pericles_Lewnes
    • 0
      Pericles_Lewnes  

    • You are completely wrong John. There are some Iraqi refugees here right now, who refuse handouts and government subsidy. They want to work.

      Painting with a wide brush is not the approach one needs to take here.

    • 3 years ago
  • Kenzosin
    • 0
      Kenzosin  

    • Kind as Americans may be, I fear for the younger American generation. Kindness does not always begets kindness. Not especially when America invaded Iraq and left the country in shreds. Now, welcoming the young Iraqis to USA may in time see the time-bomb ticking away and exploding when these Iraqis grew up to exact their revenge. As a Chinese saying goes "When you want to cut the grass, make sure you get rid of the roots too". Scary thoughts that sent a chill down my spine......

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • Kenzosin:

      Weren't we fighting them there so we wouldn't have to fight them here? Now we are going to let them come here. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it.

    • 3 years ago
  • AreOh
    • 0
      AreOh  
    • Kenzosin:

      And we wonder why America is in the straights that it is in. You simply have no idea what you are talking about. This is an example of the ignorance that is crippling our country. As an American, I am embarrassed for you.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • Kenzosin:

      Oh and you think they are going to come here and play nice. How many of them have had a brother or a father or a cousin or a friend killed by American soldiers. You don't think there will be any resentment? You are living in a dream world.

    • 3 years ago
  • AreOh
    • 0
      AreOh  
    • Kenzosin:

      Ha, John, seriously, just stop it. You think this is the first year we have admitted Iraqis since the occupation began. You need to stop and think. People are not admitted into this country at random. There is a very stiff process. Of course there may be some resentment, but this is risk is no different than any other year that we have admitted people. Your simply speaking from a place of ignorance. You need to do some reading about the immigration laws of our country, because clearly, you have no idea what you are talking about.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
  • AreOh
  • JohnA
  • AreOh
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  

    • Oh great! We don't have jobs for all the illegal aliens now, what are we supposed to do with these people. 17,000 new welfare cases, fantastic, your government at work. They're the ones with a budget surplus, anyone remember that?

    • 3 years ago
  • brad62
    • 0
      brad62  

    • Vera, I've never hurt one single Iraqi.
      Why is it you think every American is killing the the people of other Nations. It's the Global Corporations that are doing it.

      Onechance, I am native American. So you can STFU!

      iloveavi, we don't want you here either.

    • 3 years ago
  • funksoulgurlll
  • Ryz0n
  • dabne
    • 0
      dabne  

    • America is not to blame for all of Iraq's ills. We certainly did drop the ball after the fall of Baghdad. We failed at securing the country from those who took advantage of the people. I have seen insurgents flood in from neighboring Syria and Iran to exploit the people of Iraq. I have seen the insurgents blow up police stations, kill innocent civilians, and then be harbored by Syria and Iran.

      I've spent nearly two years in Iraq. I have spoken with the people, I have heard their stories about living under the Saddam regime. None have anything positive to say. They are grateful for the opportunity they have and for the creation of a new constitution. They understand the sacrifices made by our soldiers. They appreciate the Americans who died while toppling the Saddam regime.

      The rebuilding of their country has already begun. They know the challenges that lie ahead. They are good people. They recognized us soldiers as good people. I welcome them to my country with open arms as their country rebuilds. Nations are not rebuilt over night, nor within years. It takes decades. The Iraqi's I know understand this. They understand we made mistakes. But none that I talked to wish that we never came. They respect our help in toppling the brutal regime that held them hostage and now simply wish for our help in the rebuilding process.

    • 3 years ago
  • iloveravi
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • iloveravi:

      Oh yeah, you support it. It's a good sign for you. You don't live here. You don't have to worry about your tax dollars going to these people. You don't have to worry about finding them jobs when unemployment is the highest it's been in years. Of course you love it, it means they aren't coming to your country.

    • 3 years ago
  • rachelmaechel
    • 0
      rachelmaechel  

    • ...yea by generous people like Earthwalker ^ WTF

      How can people confuse supposed terrorists with
      INNOCENT CIVILIANS?!

      Let them in. Send them to my house. How can our hearts not go out to them. What did they do wrong. We're the ones that totally screwed them over. Allowing them to live here isn't nearly enough to fix the hell we have put them through.
      Just remember it's not their fault. It's ours.

    • 3 years ago
  • Yaemea
    • 0
      Yaemea  

    • It's the least we can do. We should have welcomed them in the beginning of all this mess.

      I just hope they aren't treated poorly and unjust.

    • 3 years ago
  • Earthwalker
    • 0
      Earthwalker  

    • Send them to Saudi Arabia they can afford it ...we cant!!...Hey Dick!!!where is all that money Haliburton was awarded in that "no-bid" contract to rebuild Iraq...???????

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
  • brad62
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • brad62:

      Then stop destroying their country, clean up the thousands of tons of depleted uranium you dropped on their country, repair all the damage you wrought on their country, rebuild all the homes, buildings, factories, etc., you destroyed in their country, and pay each and every one of them an equitable sum for reparations - i.e. about half a million dollars each.

    • 3 years ago
  • argyle_kitten
  • Ihatethemall
    • 0
      Ihatethemall  
    • brad62:

      I agree.... keep them over there, we dont need no more people here. Theres already to many idiots here. Most of them seem to post on this site as liberals. If the liberals want them let them pay their way. I dont want to

    • 3 years ago
  • iloveravi
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  
    • brad62:

      ihatethemail/brad 62...

      you're fucking joking right? because if you're not, tell me please why you're so damned entitled to live in america. you're NOT. natives however are. unless you're Hopi or something, please shut your arrogant ignorant pie holes.

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
  • Earthwalker
    • 0
      Earthwalker  

    • They will tax our social systems they will not assimilate well due to language barrier ...it is exactly like what they did in the town of Babel...different languages to confuse the masses keep us as slaves to amass their wealth...They(These election rigging lying cheating war-starting peace killers,The Bushes Chaneys,Hitlers and alike) use our military as their corporate might, our governmental geological surveys(funded by taxpayers) to find oil and then charge us for it , or even better sell OUR oil. They oppress our people with the immigration of hostile nations I.E. Cuba, Iraq ...they outsource our jobs and sell out our businesses all for a worthless piece of paper "Fiat Paper" (notice they are out to buy all your scrap gold)They send our boys (the best and the brightest) to war...how about sending some of these refugees to war. This is like the person who is Pro-Life yet supports the death penalty...come on do you think we're really that stupid...I am sorry to sound selfish but if America is to take on another Mariel boatlift from Bagdad I say "hey George, Got any room at the ranch??? you got visitors...permanent ones!!! Oh one last thing ...They want to erect a "trophy" in place of our twin towers Giuliani.. I am ashamed of you!!"It looks like the Burj Dubia...come on people wake up The White Buffalo Has spoken! IMPEACHMENT anyone

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  
    • Earthwalker:

      HAve you seen the pod about the Iraqi refugees in Sweden? It's linked here by Pericles. You should watch it. You wrongly assume that Iraqis only speak Arabic... Watch the pod. They speak the same language as you do, wear the same clothes... There's nothing to worry about. I agree with you on all the rest though.

    • 3 years ago
  • Pericles_Lewnes
    • 0
      Pericles_Lewnes  
    • Image

    • I can tell you with cerainty that there will be angry Iraqis, but there will be a majority of proud strong and industrious Iraqis who will show us a side that the government and the media keeps in the shadows.

      Please don't think for a moment that the Iraqi people are stupid. They know what is going on there. Alot is going to depend on how we as Americans treat and respect them. These are good tough people, like the refugees that built our country.

      Check out this Current collective journalism piece. The link is at the top. It is about Iraqi refugees in Sweden.

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
  • marpunk
  • JohnA
  • Vierotchka
  • JohnA
    • 0
      JohnA  
    • Vierotchka:

      Yeah really! Weren't we supposed to be fighting them there so we wouldn't have to fight them here? What happened to that? Now we're going to let them come here. What a joke!

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  

    • Poor people deserve some damn help. America royally fucked their country... They have NOTHING left. The least this country can do (8 yrs LATE) is offer them a place with some food/shelter/electricity/clean water/etc)

    • 3 years ago
  • JohnA
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