What Petraeus Didn't Tell You

When General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker testified before a Senate Committee this week, they pointed to "security improvements" and a "drop in violence" in Iraq over the last year, but there was one issue never mentioned: that's the issue of Iraqi refugees.

According to the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, almost 5 million Iraqis have now been displaced by violence in their country. Over 2.4 million fled their homes for safer areas within Iraq, up to 1.5 million are living in Syria, and more than 1 million refugees fled to Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and the Gulf States. I've just returned from Syria and Jordan where the influx of Iraqi refugees has created an enormous burden on these countries and is a massive humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, many of the Syrians and Jordanians I've spoken to are starting to complain about the effects of the Iraqi arrivals, and the resulting crowded schools and rising rents and real estate prices.

The initial wave of refugees, the vast majority of whom were wealthy Sunnis, went to Jordan, where the locals labeled them as the "Mercedes refugees."

In Syria the situation is different, as the Iraqi refugees are diverse in terms of ethnicity and religious affiliation, but they are less fortunate than those who went to Jordan, and typically live in cramped, barely heated basement apartments. Most of them have experienced the violent death or disappearance of an immediate family member. In most cases, families were given only hours or even minutes to prepare for departure. An Iraqi family I spoke to was threatened to be killed and was given 48 hours to depart. They blame the Iraqi government and the Americans.

Human trafficking, domestic violence, and prostitution are on the rise: something humiliating to the Iraqi refugees and a taboo subject in the Arab world. In Syria, I observed Iraqi teenage prostitutes working near hotels and wealthy Damascus neighborhoods. According to an NGO official: "many Iraqi women in Syria are choosing prostitution because it's far more lucrative than the $150 monthly stipend from the United Nations."

The United States is taking almost none of these refugees. In 2007, the US administration initially indicated it would accept 7,000 but ultimately took only 1,608...something the General, the Ambassador and President Bush failed to mention.

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Comments

[MagisterLudi]

"The influx of Iraqi refugees has created an enormous burden on these countries and is a massive humanitarian crisis."

U..S. is a debtior nation and will remain so for awhile. Meanwhile countries like Kuwait and Iran and gorging on trillions of dollars of surplus wealth.
It's about time Arabs start taking care of their own: creating job opportunities, assimilating these refugees, providing housing, citizenships etc.

Blogger, I am curious if you noticed any serious Pan Arabic assistance presence in refugee laden countries. Let me guess.... No.

OK, with Palestinians Muslims want to punish Israel by oppressing Palestinians.
What, innocent Iraqis will get the same treatement from the Brothers in Allah to punish the Americans?
Hint: American government is not like Israeli liberals, they don't give a crap.

[Michale32086]

You raise a good point. It's hard to feel sorry for refugees that come from a region that contains so much wealth...

I would also point out that many of the problems facing that region can be traced directly to the region's people's support of terrorism against the west in general and the US in particular..

It's just a guess, but I am willing to bet that the US would be a LOT more eager to help these people if they could be asurred they wouldn't get their heads sawed off..

Mebbe that's just me...

Michale.....

[justice2008]

Did Kuwait or Iran invade Iraq? Why should it be their responsibility? Also I gatther from the report that most of the refugees are now living in neighboring countries like Syria which is not wealthy yet it allows them to get in.We took Vietnamese refugees why can't we take the Iraqis?

[YankeeCanuck]

Only eleven comments. We're talking about 5 MILLION human lives. No lack of commentary about which candidate said what-- and what they may have meant by it. Endlessly discussed.That and gas prices seem to get the attention of Americans.

No wonder our reputation in the world is tarnished. You say our dictator/president doesn't give a rat's patoot. What about us? Here we are, Twelve Angry Men-- OK, persons. To plagiarise a title.

We Americans must look outward to the rest of the world and see what this regime has wrought. And change it. This will take commitment beyond the presidential election. Are we up to the challenge?

[Nyland8]

It's always amusing when I hear about polls taken of Iraqis and how they feel about their lives, their possible future, their optimism or pessimism - and especially how they feel about our presence. But I can't help but notice that in all of the polling data, it's never mentioned that 1/5 of the population of the country has been displaced ... and half of them are not even in Iraq to be polled. Should we wonder about the answers to those same polling questions if they had a chance to ask those whose lives had been turned upside down -those living in refugee camps outside their native land? How might that skew the data?

Imagine polling 24,000,000 Americans living in tent cities across the Canadian or Mexican border, unable to emigrate - yet unable to go home.

That's the scale we're talking about. 24 million Americans. In limbo.

How would we answer the pollsters?

8

[plages]

Come on, don't blame the drones, blame the senate (attorney's) for not making the correct and precise inquires to the drones, who are manipulated by this administration, so that they can just walk out of "OUR" White House with bags of cash!

[justice2008]

One more thing...Bush did not care about our own refugees...those who are still homeless due to Katrina. Do you think he gives a rat's a.. about the Iraqi refugees?

[muslimarabdude]

while violence should never beget violence, can anyone argue that there should not be chickens coming home to roost out of those 5 million as soon as some of them would have a chance? this genocidal war will be impacting the future of the US whether we wish to deny that or not (and not just from bankrupting our future generations) -- i pray God help ease these people's suffering from the hands of all evildoers in gov that brought unleashed this hell on earth

[justice2008]

It is a shame that we are the cause of these people's miseries yet we've taken in the least of any country. Also why would this Administration talk about Iraqi refugees when they have plans to stay in Iraq for years to come?

[liveandlearn]

why don't we all contact our congresspersons and senators demanding pressure on bush to take lots of iraqi refugees?

[outnow]

Americans cannot handle the truth. Iraq has been destroyed by the greed for oil. Bill Maher was talking about the evils of the church and cults on his Real Time on Friday. Americans have no problem believing that there was a snake in the Garden of Eden speaking to Adam. But they will not accept the realities of this war in Iraq. The war in Iraq is the greatest tragedy since Vietnam. Dick Cheney feels a stinging loss of face in the fact that mortar shells are coming into the Green Zone. He is looking for an alibi so he blames Iran. I am more frightened by the Apocalyptical religion I see in America together with the Neocon's access to media. Krauthammer and Kristol are leading the charge. One must feel profoundly sorry for the Iraqi people. A deep sense of shame for this slaughter will follow the bloodletting and torture, but not until the people wake up as they did after the Salem Witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts.

The rule of law and our constitutional Republic has been systematically destroyed in our country. Our values no longer represent what our country stood for around the world. Cheney's lust for power and money is unmatched in U.S. history by any Vice President. Bush is an ideological sociopath. The congress should have de-funded the war last year.

[Michale32086]

"Notch another one for the American Troops Who Can Do No Wrong."

Of course, you can PROVE that Americans had ANYTHING to do with the assassination of Riyadh al-Nouri, right?? :^/

It's rather ironic that you accuse the Bush administration of lying, eh?

Michale.....

[DemandTruth]

There's nothing ironic in calling a duck a duck. It's on record now, honey. The Administration told us almost a thousand lies to get us into this illegal and immoral occupation. Are you trying to say that every single American troop in this war is completely innocent? Have there been NO innocent Iraqis harmed by our bombs and our non-Arabic speaking raids? Okay, what about innocent American troops harmed by this war? How about American troops who rape and abuse their FELLOW female American troops? Are those soldiers blameless too? Oh, but here I am asking a resident troll to think in terms deeper than us vs. them and America uber alles. My mistake.

[Michale32086]

"Are you trying to say that every single American troop in this war is completely innocent?"

Of course not.. But you are trying to claim that "every single American troop in this war" is a rapist and other ignorant and totally baseless charges..

By your ad hominem attacks and childish name-calling, I think it's safe to assume that you are long on hysterical and ignorant invective, but short on facts..

What a shock... :^/

Michale.....

[CitizenLegislatorCC]

The General, the Ambassador, the President, the Senator, and the Speaker see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

While their handiwork continues to create evil of unspeakable proportions to torment the people of Iraq day after night after day. They've now all murdered a "moderate" Sadrist, al-Sadr's right hand man in Iraq - gunned down on his way home from prayers. Notch another one for the American Troops Who Can Do No Wrong.

Damn our "leaders" for the lying, murderous hyprocrites they are.