Mr. President. the news of Iraqs Kurdish population continues to be grim. It is being reported that 500 Kurdish refugees are dying each day along the IraqTurkey border. Such horror is a searing reminder of the brutality of Saddam Hussein. the evil force behind this disaster of Biblical proportions. As grave as the situation is for the 850.000 Kurds near the Turkish border. the life and death struggle may be worse for the 1.5 million Kurds near Iran. We do not know how many Kurds die along that border each day. We can only imagine that the tragedy must be great. And the future of Shiite refugees in southern Iraq. protected up until now by United States forces. is in some doubt. as reports surface about Iraqi secret police amassing lists to hand over to Saddams military forces. Will they. too. die. as the American military shield Is withdrawn? It is likely many refugees now dead would be alive today had the international community. including the United States. acted more quickly in response to their plight. if we had stopped the horrific slaughter of innocent life in the aftermath of the gulf war through a series of air strikes against helicopter gunships and tank columns. for example. The act. while not necessarily tipping the strategic balance of power in favor of dissident forces in Iraq. would have saved many civilian lives. and might have prevented the wholesale. panicdriven flight of Kurds to the Turkish and Iranian borders. But we cannot remake the past. no matter how recent it is. We can only deal with present reality. The President has begun to act on behalf of the Kurdish refugees. and that is a positive sign. We are establishing camps where their immediate needs can be met. More and more food and other supplies are being airlifted in.
Keywords matched
refugees