When Johnny Comes Marching Home

At last! After nearly nine years the longest running war in Ameica's history has finally come to a close with the recent withdrawl of US troops. It is time to welcome home our service members and thank them for their work in Iraq.

This was a most unfortunate war. A war whose declaration was based on a mammoth deception by the previous administration and continued with almost unimaginable mismanagement by both political and military leaders. This was a war America would like to forget.

But we can’t walk away and forget about our obligation to the Iraqi people, particularly to the millions of displaced Iraqis who live in limbo in Iraq and neighboring countries. The humanitarian consequences of this nearly nine-year war have too often been overlooked. Since 2003, 2½ million Iraqis have fled the country — most going to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon — while 2 million more in Iraq have been displaced from their homes.

Neighboring countries have, by and large, kept the door ajar for Iraqis but not without straining their own populations and resources. The international community has provided basic assistance to the refugees and resettled a small fraction to third countries, but a long-term solution to this mass displacement has proved elusive.
At the same time, close to 40,000 Iraqis who assisted our troops or worked with the U.S. government in Iraq await interviews to come to the United States. An additional 28,000 Iraqis have been interviewed and approved for resettlement here but are caught in a vicious cycle of expiring medical exams and security clearances that keep them in limbo.

After World War II, the Marshall Plan restored Europe, and after the Vietnam War the Orderly Departure Program brought many Vietnamese to the United States and other countries. These are examples of U.S. resourcefulness in repairing, to the extent possible, the ravages of war.

A post-withdrawal plan for Iraq should certainly be tailored to current realities. But it should also demonstrate the same commitment as earlier postwar efforts, leaving Iraq and its people as whole as possible.

Any plan should strengthen the rule of law and security within Iraq to enable Iraqis, including religious minorities, to remain or return. It should expedite resettlement for Iraqis who supported our troops and include stronger efforts to integrate refugees in the region or resettle them to third countries, including the United States

U.S. abandonment of Iraqi refugees and those internally displaced cannot be an option. We cannot leave behind a humanitarian crisis in hopes that it will correct itself. This would only lead to increased tensions in the Middle East and undermine the future of a new generation of Iraqis, whose leadership will be needed to build a stable and peaceful Iraq.