Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Invaders and Allies Ignore Iraq’s Humanitarian Crisis


by Haroon Siddiqui

Those who were most gung-ho about the invasion and occupation of Iraq have been the least helpful in mopping up the mess there. Those least enthusiastic have ended up bearing the greatest burden.

The United States and Britain have accepted only a handful of the 4.2 million displaced Iraqis. Ditto Kuwait, which was the most bellicose of America’s pro-war Arab allies. Ditto Saudi Arabia, that other staunch American ally. It has shut its border with Iraq, and plans to fortify it with a $2 billion fence.

Stephen Harper, who as leader of the opposition agitated for Canada to join the war, has been silent as prime minister about admitting Iraqi refugees to Canada.

On the other hand, Syria and Jordan, which strongly opposed the war, have accepted 2 million Iraqi refugees, and done so gracefully.

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