The new Hmong
The LA Times reports that Iraqis who helped US forces in Iraq are suspended in time in their country and often targeted by their own people for violence;
The U.S. government promised Tariq and thousands of other former interpreters that they would be first in line for special visas to the United States. But with the pace of visa approvals having slowed to a crawl, that promise rings hollow for Tariq, who stays locked in his parents’ home, working the phones and the Internet to track his application.
For the first time since his work as an interpreter ended, Tariq left his home one day this month and drove through Baghdad to meet a reporter. He brought along his brother, a tall, burly fellow who literally watched Tariq’s back with each step. Tariq asked that his surname not be published.
“I served the Americans very well, but now they’ve left me on my own, with no security,” he said in nearly flawless English. “They’ve expelled us all from the only places in Iraq that were safe for us — U.S. bases.”
We did the same thing after the war in Vietnam to the indigenous people who risked their lives for us there. most of them ended up in Communist “reeducation camps” or murdered outright. many found their way to Europe and the US as the famous “boat people”. But is it any wonder that we meet such resistance when we try to help countries when we always abandon them to the sharks?
Republican administrations are just as guilty of this as Democrats. George HW Bush pretty much left Iraq’s Shi’ites to the whims of Saddam Hussein. One day we were providing them with a safe haven and the next day we were racing them to Saudi Arabia after encouraging the Shi’ites to rise up against Hussein.
Category: Terror War
I wish we could have offered all our ‘Terps a free one-way ticket and American Citizenship. They are owed as much for their valiant service.
Yea, well…tell it to the remaining Hmong and Montqenard in the Central High lands of Vietnam and being exterminated by their communist masters…I bet John F’ng sKerry sleeps very well at night too.
Even Kindergardeners know that if you want to have friends, you have to do what you say you will do. Duh!!!
@1 – Absolutely!
Well most of them anyway…..there were a couple at Falcon that I had will still swear were JAM.
I wouldn’t trust America’s word of honor either. We always abandon those who have helped us to the wolves.
I wonder if the cut and run libs, and the cut and run Ron Paul supporters understand this.
You can’t keep abandoning friends, abandoning missions, abandoning principals, and and abandoning countries and hope to have any credibility left.
Something tells me that they DO understand. Diminished American credibility is their goal.
At the risk of seeming insensitive. Really, who didn’t see this coming?
Peace with HONOR, my ass.
This is sickening. Lord, not AGAIN!!??
If you’re referring to the situation to which I suspect that you were referring in your last paragraph, you’re comparing apples to oranges. The circumstances weren’t even similar. Perhaps you’re confusing your recollections with a situation that developed during the Clinton Administration? In any case, recheck your sources (if any). GHWB’s Administration did [not] pull the stunt that you insinuated.
Um, Brian, I realize the source is the WaPo, but it does cover what Jonn said.
http://newsmine.org/content.php?ol=war-on-terror/iraq/insurgency/civil-war/bush-called-for-1991-shiite-rebellion-against-saddam.txt
So, no it wasn’t Clinton, it was GHWB.
Brian, you’re starting to become tedious in your slavish support of people because they are Republicans. I was there, I speak from experience. Unless you were there with me, stfu.
So, with hindsight being what it is, what could we have done differently? We knew when we began paying the Sons of Iraq groups that they were a minority. We knew that the smaller Sunni population would eventually be targeted by the Shiites. The Sunni Ba’ath party had oppressed the Shiites for 35 years and they were looking for some payback. So, I ask again what could we have done differently? Should we have setup permanent bases with no plans for withdrawal just to protect the Sunni population? How many troops would be needed for this? With contractors I’d bet that the number of US troops to adequately keep the peace between these two warring factions would be at least 150,000 (at a minimum). Without the aid of contractors, triple that number. What is the cost of that over the next 50 years?
Plain and simple we have to let Iraq be their own people. They are never going to write love letters to Israel. They are always going to support militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. The first line of their new constitution proclaims Islamic law to be the law of the land. And if we kept 300,000 troops on the ground there for the next 50 years, none of that would change.
#10 – My “slavish support of Republicans”, huh?
Why? Because I expose the fact that you are a
blowhard and a bullshit artist, so much so that
you could be a Democrat subversive here. In fact,
your knowledge of politics wouldn’t even fill a
Post-It. You would have plenty of room left on it
to write your knowledge of history. Your ignorance
is stunning. So kiss my ass? (You were there, huh?
Yeah, riiiiiight. LOL. Like CI was a OIF veteran.)
We should have honored the promises we made to the people who worked with us–completely aside from victory, defeat, occupation or whatever, we should honor our promises.
Brian…who was president in 1991? Google it and get back to us. Jonn is right. GHWB promised the Shia down south they’d be protected then pulled the rug out from under them. Saddam’s retribution against the Shia was one reason the southern “no fly” zone was established.
I remember “Sam” who used to be a Sergeant in the Iraqi Army. The guy was very enthusiastic, and we treated him as one of our own. He felt our losses as much as we did. I know he made it out eventually but every time he left the FOB to go home. . . I knew the danger he was in. More than once a terp just dissapeared.
It is my opinion that we should *retroactively* give them actual rank, and awards that they might be deserving of (c’mon, anyone that’s been knows there are some) It will never happen. but you can always wish.
What Sig said.
Brian,
I do remember President Bush (the Elder-right after he told Powell to not advance on Baghdad) saying things in a speech that clearly sounded to me that if the people of Basra and environs would rise up, “we would be with them,” or something to that effect. I don’t remember the exact quote. I remember because when they did rise up, and Saddam started slaughtering them, we did zip and it disgusted me. YMMV
I want a near moratorium on all immigration, our people are being subsumed, but here really is a special case. These are people who really did directly stick their necks out for us and incurred risk and harm in doing so. If we owe anyone sanctuary it is surely people like them.
There was estimated to be around 50,000 such people connected with us in Iraq, not a mass we couldn’t easily absorb. We already have a million illegals just from Mexico coming a year. Yeah thats right, just Mexico, nevermind the rest of the third world or the hundreds of thousands of legals.
A applicate should be given a VISA for themselves, spouse, and children, thats it. No chain migration, where entire masses are pulled over without end.
Hell why don’t we get them tickets to Mexico so they can walk across our southern border… Sorry just a bit pissed when I see shit like this.
#14 –
Get real. I don’t have to Google it
I made a legitimate point tactfully.
Lily got defensive and snotty, replying
with smoke, mirrors and bullshit to try
to save face, unwilling to man-up to his
ditzy mistake. Which raises another issue:
Just because you and others were foolish
enough to agree with him for reasons which
would elude any rational person, that does
not make him right. All that proves is that
you and others are as clueless and as ditzy
as he is. BTW, why don’t [you] research it?
P.S.
Further evidence that Lily is a dolt was his
goofy belief that I would back down and stfu.
He don’t know me very well, do he? 🙂
This has been going on for a while, truly a very dirty thing indeed.
Not only that, but in the sfgate website, there’s an article about how some Iraqi interpreters that did make it to America were further shafted, when they were placed in neighborhoods in Oakland where they were viciously mugged and robbed.