I am privileged to take the floor after my colleague from Virginia and I am in agreement with the sentiment that he has expressed. However. I would like to speak for a moment about the second greatest refugee crisis in the world after Darfur. Four years after the fall of Baghdad. many of the worst fears expressed at the beginning of that war have come true. as Iraq and its neighbors are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis rivaled only by the ongoing genocide in Darfur. referenced by my good friend from Virginia. Iraq has the fastest growing refugee population in the world. The United States has9 a responsibility to try to protect the innocent victims of massive violence wherever It can. However. having made the decision to begin a war of choice in Iraq. we have a particular responsibility to those who are suffering as a result of Americas actions. Whatever one believes about the wisdom of the war or the future of the United States engagement in Iraq. we have a responsibility to those innocent Iraqis who have been driven from their homes or fear for their lives every day. The numbers are sobering. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates 4 million Iraqis have been made refugees. 2 million of which have left for adjacent countries like Syria and Jordan. Every month. another 50.000 to 70.000 Iraqlis continue to be displaced from their homes. and these figures likely underestimate the magnitude of the problem. These are the front lines of a regional humanitarian crisis. one that could easily destabilize these front line countries that neighbor Iraq and turn a humanitarian crisis into a security disaster.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees Refugees