Where Is America's Compassion...

News&Views
The Armchair Curmudgeon
March 18, 2007
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Our Limited Compassion


For those of you blessed with long memories, it's hard to feel good about yourself and think back to what America did to our allies in Vietnam under Nixon and Kissinger.

For the most part, we abandoned a great many of our friends and allies in the final days. But even before that window closed, we had rushed to bring into America something like 140,000 Vietnamese people who had supported America during the War.

Now, flash forward.

Iraq circa this date: The ugly truth is that there are many Iraqi's who have supported the US cause as translators and aides who now find that they and their families are being targeted for helping us.

If they skip to some of the other border states, like Syria or Jordan, they discover that they can't find work or work is not allowed under the host government regulations. Most don’t want to settle for the limbo of Syria or Jordan; they want to come to America but find that they are being discouraged at every turn.

For many, the door has simply not been open for various reasons. To begin with, we have a very restrictive policy for Iraqis and most of those who process applications admit that they are instructed not to encourage immigration. In fact, some of those who aided Americans have been told it was their decision to make and they got compensated for the risk.

The ugly truth has now surfaced and now the government plans to open up America's doors to its friends in order to fend off a barrage of bad publicity.

But although the demand is great, the increases have only been infinitesimal. To meet the needs of over 1 million prospective immigrants, America has agreed to accept only 7,000 Iraqis this year--only a drop in the bucket when you consider that millions are fleeing to new homes anywhere they can relocate in order to provide shelter and protection for their families. And, most Americans would be embarrassed to learn that many of the European nations have showed more compassion to these poor dislocated Iraqis than America’s government.

To date, it has been estimated that more than one million, including many innocent Iraqi women and children, have died as a result of this war. It is sad that we have so little compassion that we cannot see it within our hearts to admit those who have demonstrated their courage by volunteering their support to the American effort.

The knowledge of America’s inhospitality to its allies will reverberate around the Middle East and in the end, it will come back to haunt us. Guaranteed.

Les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com