House Committee hearing on U.S. Response to Iraqi Refugee Crisis

At the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on "Neglected Responsibilities: The U.S. Response to the Iraqi Refugee Crisis," Chairman Gary L. Ackerman, (D-NY) said Congress increased to 5000 the number of Special Immigrant Visas available to Iraqis who worked for the United States. However, in terms of refugees, only 1,608 were resettled during Fiscal Year 2007. In order to reach the goal of 12,000 refugees resettled during this Fiscal Year, he said, the Administration would have to triple the number of refugees processed each month. A year later, and we have yet to "seize the moment" in terms of rehabilitating the image of the United States in the Middle East.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said that is it not the job of the United States to subsidize refugees in Jordan or anywhere else, if they are able to go home. We should do our best, he said, in our ability to help assist them in Iraq.

Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA) said the reality of Iraqis living outside of Iraq is they cannot return because conditions do not exist for their return. They cannot go home, he said, or they'd be killed. Our response should also work to prevent further erosion of how we are viewed in the Middle East. If we are concerned about terrorism, he said, it's in our national interest to "step up." If the vast numbers of refugees are not treated with respect, it will be the new "breeding ground" for terrorists.

James B. Foley, Senior Coordinator of Iraqi Refugee Issues, U.S. Department of State, said third country resettlement is for the desperate people that cannot go home even if they want to. However, he said, we can begin "in country" processing, thanks to a more secure Iraq. About one hundred Iraqis are being processed in Baghdad currently. A second reason we can begin processing is that Syria has recognized that humanitarian goals need to be reached. We are doing everything we can, he said, and we are committed to processing refugees right where they are located in Iraq. On a large scale it is daunting in regards to logistical steps and security, he said, but they will move as fast as possible.

Secretary Condoleezza Rice testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Budget 2009 Hearing

At the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 Hearing, Representative Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), said there are many developments in the present that were of concern. At the top of the list, she said, is the "accelerating spread of the capacity to make nuclear weapons." She said the threat to the world’s security is obvious, and said the nuclear fuel in a reactor can be used in "dirty bombs."

She went on to say that our efforts in North Korea to have them give up their nuclear weapons program has encountered obstacles, and that we are in danger of making the same errors we have made in the past. The greatest threat to the world’s security, she said, is Iran’s determination to lay the foundation for a nuclear weapons program.

Lehtinen said that China and Russia continue to assist Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, and said "I regret that the Olympics are being held in the capital of a country which does not respect the human rights of its own population."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that "we’ve made a lot of progress" over the last several years. In Iraq, she said, we really did not have an institution that could deal with the restructuring. If America does not stand for freedom, liberty, and the rights of the oppressed, she said, then nobody will.

Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) asked Rice if the American people should be worried about Iran’s nuclear capability. Rice answered the enrichment of fissile materials were of a great danger. In answer to questions from Lehtinen, she said that we have worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to deal with the tunnels in Egypt and the smuggling problems. She said it’s important to note that there are intensive discussions going on with the Egyptians and the Israelis to find a solution that involves all parties, but has no intention of talking to Haamas.

For Afghan reconstruction, Rice said that there is "about a billion dollars" being requested. In response to Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rice said our commitment to Afghanistan over the last six years has been over 20 billion dollars. This was in defense to the statement by Rohrabacher about the budget being overfunded in the favor of humanitarian assistance programs such as AIDS research.

Representative Robert Wexler (D-FL) said that Rice and Prez Bush made a total of 935 false public statements pre-9/11 in an orchestrated attempt to be misleading about the war. Rice said "I take my integrity very seriously."

House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight holds a hearing on Iraq "Declaration of Principles"

Chairman Bill Delahunt (D-Mass) discussed the “Declaration of Principles” issued by the Bush administration on November 26th, 2007. He expressed disappointment with the administration over the declaration, saying that details of the document were kept secret and worried that it suggested an indefinite military presence in Iraq. He said that administration officials declined three separate invitations to speak before the subcommittee regarding the declaration and that the only official to discuss the declaration was Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during a hearing two days ago.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said that he has been a strong supporter of the Iraq war since the invasion but he mimicked Delahunt’s message saying that the administration’s unwillingness to cooperate with Congress “breeds mistrust” in Washington and with Americans. He said that the administration may have good intentions but that the “cloak of secrecy” surrounding discussion of the declaration “undermines the success to implement the strategy.”

Michael J. Glennon, professor of international Law at Tufts University spoke before the subcommittee saying that the declaration was “ambiguous.” He said that it could be construed to imply a longterm military presence in Iraq and that under the constitution, the President must seek Congressional approval before enacting such provisions.