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Iraq is Bleeding All Over Western Asia

There are an estimated two and a half million Iraqi refugees scattered around Western Asia - especially concentrated in Syria and Iran.  There are countless numbers of people internally displaced within Iraq who have been uprooted from their lives into an unstable and unsafe situation.  The refugee issue brings with it more than a catastrophic humanitarian crisis; it complicates already difficult geo-political relationships between Iraq, its neighbors, and the US.

The movement of refugees out of Iraq began right after the invasion.  Hundreds of thousands of the Iraqi intelligentsia and middle class left for neighboring countries on 'short visit' visas and have stayed, living as refugees in a foreign city.  This urban exodus caught the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) off guard.  They were unprepared to provide supplies for dispersed and unregistered refugees.  In fact, they are just now getting started creating camps on the borders between Iraq, Iran and Syria. The governments of Syria and Iran have provided some support to help mitigate the process of registering and helping Iraqi refugees; but, their contentious relationship with the US overshadows any productive work.

The situation for those displaced internally is even worse.  Those who could not afford to leave Iraq have been subject to unpredictable violence and food shortages.  Most families are still living without access to clean water or electricity. Cholera outbreaks have reached epidemic levels among children.   This situation is exploited by neighborhood political gangs that use intimidation tactics, like kidnapping, to exploit money from an already poor population. 

This crisis will have an impact on the future peace and stability in Iraq and the US whether or not our government acknowledges its importance.  According to local sources the Mehdi Army is the number one source of aid for internally displaced Iraqis and this philanthropy will no doubt raise their recruitment numbers.   Even more unsettling is the scene of refugees returning to their homes only to find them occupied by other people or destroyed altogether.  These Iraqis, and some of those internally displaced, did not have an opportunity to vote in the election of 2005.  It is unclear whether these citizens will accept or reject the new government; and, if they don't, how they will express their dissent.

The Committee on Refugees has called on the US-backed Iraqi government to dedicate 4% of Iraq's reconstruction money to the refugee crisis.  They have yet to comply with this request.  Reconstruction is a capstone for the future of Iraq.  Locally organized projects that focus on basic infrastructure, job creation, and social services must be implemented if the people of Iraq are expected to come back to rebuild their country.

No Soldier Left Behind calls for Iraqi-led reconstruction projects that focus on bettering the lives of internally displaced Iraqis and making the country stable enough for the return of those living as refugees abroad.  You can sign onto this plan we're sending to the Obama administration here.