Can The USA Abandon The Refugees It Creates?

A few days ago, I saw following news item on CNN. Rather than share my opinion (as someone who does not reside in USA), I thought I would solicit the opinion of Americans on one aspect of the one topic that continues to hog the headlines – the war in Iraq.

First, the news item, without comment. The war in Iraq has caused two million Iraqis to flee their country and become refugees - not surprising since living conditions in most of Iraq have become hellish. A few hundred thousand of these have requested asylum in the USA. America has accepted 466.

The majority of those who commented thought that the US has a moral responsibility to help the refugees find a safe haven to wait out the worst of the war. They opined that these people can't even begin to rebuild their lives, because the insurgents are bombing and destroying any and everything that the Americans and Iraqis try to repair or rebuild. However, most doubted that the Bush Administration will do anything about it. They agreed that The USA could not take that many people in at one time, but they should be doing SOMETHING to help resettle them.

Some thought that one thing, that is lacking in the rhetoric of both political parties, is commitment. They wondered what America was going to do to restore Iraq to a livable country, if and when the military action ever comes to an end? Would there be some sort of Marshall Plan enacted, assuming the war is "won"?

Some conservatives found it interesting that people (read: liberals) think America has a moral obligation to help these refugees, but no moral obligation to remove a blood/power thirsty dictator.

The liberals countered by arguing that America had no moral obligation to remove dictators around the world; considering that the USA funded most of them at one time or another. They did not believe that America was the world's police force; and they felt it's none of America’s business, other than in a humanitarian sense, how people are ruled. They continued that the USA had a moral obligation toward the Iraqi refugees because this country’s policies destroyed their country and their economy, based on a growing compendium of lies and deceptions. What America had, was a moral obligation to put down the insurgency and prevent the civil war, at which efforts they failed miserably. As proof, they say that most Iraqis - when asked - said that, as bad as things were under Saddam, they were far worse now.

An interesting range of opinions. It illustrates that, on the issue of Iraqi refugees – as in the case of almost anything to do with Iraq – Americans remain deeply divided.

Some extreme liberals believe that Americans have built our way of life on telling others how they should live. As a country, it has interfered with other countries for the whole of its existence. Some countries, it has tried to absorb. When Americans got in way over their heads, they have left the nation they vowed to "save" to figure out a way to survive on their own.

Then there were the staunch conservatives who thought the refugee racket is big business and there were going to be a few hundred thousand Iraqi refugees washing up on the shores of the U.S.A real soon. They sarcastically observed that they were sure the Administration can find a really nice, wholesome and White part of the country drop then in, like they did with the Hmong (Minnesota) and the Somalis (Maine). The problems arose when these folks showed up with their old world habits like Somalis performing genital mutilations in Augusta and good old fashion Hmong honor killings, child marriage, and Bang Bang Vang murdering 6 American hunters. In their opinion, the true blue Americans in these communities do not deserve this. Here’s a direct quote from one such "patriot"; "Some poor schmuck in a quiet mountain town is about to have a couple thousand Iraqi neighbors, the vast majority of which will no doubt have room-temp IQs and will maintain their backwards, old world cultural practices (the Mohammedan religion, cousin marriage, etc.)."

One reader questioned the double standard exhibited by some. In is own words. "How about the refugees of Hurricane Katrina?? I recently wrote to the director of Operation Blessing and offered my services to help in Louisianna.I told my immediate supervisor at work about it and asked if he would support me in this. He had all he could do not to laugh."Tom, we are already short of people in your department for work coverage (my fault?).If you leave you will probably not have a job when you get back. (After 33 yrs. of service??)It's this type of mentality that prevents us from taking care of people who are displaced, like in Iraq, Darfur or Louisiana."