Iraqis Fleeing Iraq

Mephisto

Philosopher
Mephisto
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Apr 10, 2005
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. . . and they're taking their purple thumbs with them. ;)

Iraqis 'fleeing rising violence'

Pam O'Toole
BBC News

Thousands of Iraqis are fleeing the country every day, in what the UN's refugee agency describes as a steady, silent exodus.

The number of Iraqis claiming asylum in the West is growing, says the UNHCR.

The agency also says the number of internally displaced is growing, with some 365,000 Iraqis uprooted this year.

Earlier this week the Baghdad government estimated that about 300,000 people had been internally displaced since February.

It was in February this year when Shia Muslim shrines in the town of Samarra were destroyed in bomb attacks blamed on Sunni militants.

The UNHCR had previously been concentrating its operations in Iraq on helping exiled Iraqis return home and helping non-Iraqi refugees living there.

'Silent exodus'

The agency says that last year about 50,000 Iraqis returned from neighbouring countries. This year only 1,000 did.

"UNHCR is monitoring the border in Syria, for example," said UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond.

"Our staff [are] seeing about 2,000 people a day coming across, so it's more than 40,000 people a month just into Syria."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6049174.stm
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Let's see . . . innocent Iraqis leaving the country, foreign insurgents moving in to gain combat experience, a raging civil war, clearly the best thing to do is to . . . . . . . stay the course. ;)

Iraq is going to be very interesting in the upcoming months. :(
 
I'd flee too. The last thing I would want is for me, or my family, to be caught up in the Sunni-Shiite bloodbath that shows no signs of ending this century.

{edited to add}

BAGHDAD, Iraq Oct 15, 2006 (AP)

Suspected Shiite militiamen killed at least 46 Sunni Arabs in a weekend rampage of revenge killing in a city north of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said....
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zenith-nadir said:
I'd flee too. The last thing I would want is for me, or my family, to be caught up in the Sunni-Shiite bloodbath that shows no signs of ending this century.

{edited to add}
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:) I see we agree perfectly when it comes to survival or preservation of our families.

I guess the best selling point for this unexpected migration is that, "they have the RIGHT to flee." ;)
 
Too bad Saddam's not still in charge, he would have nerve gassed them as they tried to cross the border.

From your comments, I assume you've come up with an alternate strategy that doesn't turn Iraq into al-Quedastan. I'd like to hear that alternate strategy.
 
peptoabysmal said:
Too bad Saddam's not still in charge, he would have nerve gassed them as they tried to cross the border.

From your comments, I assume you've come up with an alternate strategy that doesn't turn Iraq into al-Quedastan. I'd like to hear that alternate strategy.
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The people in charge of coming up with that strategy threatened to fire anyone found working on a post-invasion plan for occupation. Frankly asking critics of the current non-plan what their plan is disingenious. ANY strategy would have been better than the one that was used -- which was none.

No plan may be sufficient. It's crossed the minds of many people that there is no further action the US can take in Iraq.

As a little preview, our occupation of Afghanistan (remember them? They actually had Al-Queda cells in their country before we invaded them!) has failed so thoroughly that prominent Republicans are considering allowing the Taliban back in charge. So it's pretty clear that all options, bad and worse, are on the table.

And I say "bad and worse" because there may not be a good option. Bush has pretty much painted us into a corner on Iraq. Pointing at critics and screaming that they "have no plan" is just pathetic at this point.
 
SlippyToad said:
The people in charge of coming up with that strategy threatened to fire anyone found working on a post-invasion plan for occupation. Frankly asking critics of the current non-plan what their plan is disingenious. ANY strategy would have been better than the one that was used -- which was none.

No plan may be sufficient. It's crossed the minds of many people that there is no further action the US can take in Iraq.

As a little preview, our occupation of Afghanistan (remember them? They actually had Al-Queda cells in their country before we invaded them!) has failed so thoroughly that prominent Republicans are considering allowing the Taliban back in charge. So it's pretty clear that all options, bad and worse, are on the table.

And I say "bad and worse" because there may not be a good option. Bush has pretty much painted us into a corner on Iraq. Pointing at critics and screaming that they "have no plan" is just pathetic at this point.
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Remember how testy the administration got when asked WHAT their plan was? :)
 
Tricky said:
Funny. Even Dubya admits that no WMDs were found.
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That is funny, isn't it? Even though 500 gas shells were found, albeit long in the tooth and of dubious operationsl effeciveness, the "uh, oops, not there really" appears to be his new position.

Rick Santorum must be chewing off his fingernails in frustration.

DR
 
Tricky said:
Funny. Even Dubya admits that no WMDs were found.
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That is precisely what the powerful anticipate--that the gullible will defend them beyond what they themselves defend. Pure and simple cultisism, isn't it? Just look at the media. They don't have to force them to follow them beyond. They'll do it all by themselves.
 
Tricky said:
Funny. Even Dubya admits that no WMDs were found.
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Since it is a known fact, it doesn't matter what GW admits or doesn't admit.
Saddam was getting real cozy with the Ruskies near the end. I have a feeling Saddam no longer needed to produce, serious weapons were only a swipe of the ATM away.
 
Tricky said:
Indeed. 43% of Americans believe that Saddam Hussein was personally involved on the attacks of September 11th, 2001 according to Opinion Research Corporation for CNN.
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Saddam was at least interested in dating Bin Laden, if not going steady:
A newly released prewar Iraqi document indicates that an official representative of Saddam Hussein's government met with Osama bin Laden in Sudan on February 19, 1995, after receiving approval from Saddam Hussein. Bin Laden asked that Iraq broadcast the lectures of Suleiman al Ouda, a radical Saudi preacher, and suggested "carrying out joint operations against foreign forces" in Saudi Arabia. According to the document, Saddam's presidency was informed of the details of the meeting on March 4, 1995, and Saddam agreed to dedicate a program for them on the radio. The document states that further "development of the relationship and cooperation between the two parties to be left according to what's open [in the future] based on dialogue and agreement on other ways of cooperation." The Sudanese were informed about the agreement to dedicate the program on the radio.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/IraqCoverage/story?id=1734490&page=1
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Polls are interesting, though, aren't they?
It turns out an overwhelming majority of people in the Muslim world, according to a Gallup poll, do not believe the attacks of Sept. 11 were orchestrated by Osama bin Laden, or by Arabs, or by Muslims.

Many believe, instead, that the whole thing was a conspiracy orchestrated by Jews.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/04/60II/main520768.shtml
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