We must embrace the many recommendations of the Iraq Study Group and engage in a "New Diplomatic Offensive" in Iraq and the wider region because. as the Iraq Study Group wisely concluded. only a political solution which the Iraqi people buy into can salvage Iraq. Mr. President. the United States has a moral obligation to assist Iraqi and Afghan refugees and those internally displaced by violence. I commend the Appropriations Committee for beginning to effectively do so. by increasing such assistance by $50 million for Iraq. and $18 million for Afghanistan. The Brookings Institution estimates that nearly onequarter of all physicians have fled Iraq. There are nearly 2 million Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria. These refugees have placed a tremendous strain on the essential social services and infrastructure of those two countries. which have begun to close their border crossings. Emergency funding is necessary to provide these individuals with basic medical care. food. housing and to ensure that their children are able to attend school. We cannot afford to miss another opportunity to change our course in Iraq and to support the men and women sacrificing their lives thereopportunities this administration has resisted at every step of the way.
Keywords matched
border crossing refugees