Today. it is less than 10 a day. Never before in history has such an enormous human disaster been alleviated so quickly or so effectively. A delegation from the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs has recently returned from the region. It estimates that our efforts saved some 20.000 lives. The only regret is that we did not act sooner and save an even larger number of lives. Our troops also provided critical assistance to the nearly 40.000 refugees who fled Saddam Hussein in southern Iraq. These refugees. mostly Shia. feared reprisals from Iraqi forces after the Shia in the region rose up unsuccessfully against Saddam Hussein. Our troops. in conjunction with our allies and private voluntary agencies provided basic assistance and medical care to these individuals. In one of the most efficient and rapid relocation of refugees ever. one half of these refugees in southern Iraq25.000were airlifted to a refugee camp in Rafhah. Saudi Arabia. The United States has since turned over responsibility of the remaining refugees in the Demilitarized Zone along the IraqiKuwait border to the United Nations. but we must not forget the extraordinary success of this operation. The resolution I am introducing today with Senator SIMPs8N commends the United States and allied troops who participated in these extraordinary relief operations. Their exceptional dedication. professionalism and compassion has made them heroes to not only the Kurds but also the world. Many of these troops had served in Operation Desert Storm. and some were on their way home when they were diverted to assist in the refugee crisis. I urge my colleagues to join me in applauding these men and women who demonstrated once again the outstanding capabilities of our military forces. Trained for combat and war. they showed how well our military can adapt to changing circumstances and changing missions.
Keywords matched
Immigration Refugee refugee refugees