In a move 'spun' by John Kerry as "keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope," NYTimes reports [8] the Obama administration is willing to accept to 100,000 annually in 2017, a significant increase over the current worldwide cap of 70,000. Kerry further added that the US would explore ways to increase the limit beyond 100,000 in future years while carrying out background checks to ensure that the refugees have not been infiltrated by terrorists.
Ironically, just as Europe is shutting its doors to Syrian refugees, the US is opening its own.
Significantly, the countries that have generated most of the refugees are all places where the United States has invaded, overthrown governments, supported insurgencies, or intervened in a civil war. The invasion of Iraq created a power vacuum that has empowered terrorism in the Arab heartland. Supporting rebels in Syria has piled Pelion on Ossa. Afghanistan continues to bleed 14 years after the United States arrived and decided to create a democracy. Libya, which was relatively stable when the U.S. and its allies intervened, is now in chaos, with its disorder spilling over into sub-Saharan Africa.
Everywhere people are fleeing the violence, which, among other benefits, has virtually obliterated the ancient Christian presence in the Middle East. Though I recognize that the refugee problem cannot be completely blamed on only one party, many of those millions would be alive and the refugees would for the most part be in their homes if it had not been for the catastrophic interventionist policies pursued by both Democratic and Republican administrations in the United States.
It is perhaps past time for Washington to begin to become accountable for what it does.
On Friday, Obama said that the United States will admit 10,000 Syrian refugees [10]for resettlement over the next 12 months, following criticism that America is not doing enough with Europe's migrant crisis. It now appears, as The NY Times reports, Washington is taking on more responsibility...
The Obama administration will increase the number of refugees the United States is willing to accept to 100,000 annually in 2017, a significant increase over the current worldwide cap of 70,000, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday.
The announcement came as Mr. Kerry conferred here with German officials on the wave of migrants that has swamped Europe and met with Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum in Europe.
Under the new plan, the American limit on refugee visas would be increased to 85,000 in the fiscal year 2016. The cap would then rise to 100,000 the following year.
Mr. Kerry said that the United States would explore ways to increase the limit beyond 100,000 in future years while carrying out background checks to ensure that the refugees have not been infiltrated by terrorists.
“This step is in keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope,” Mr. Kerry said in his prepared remarks. “And it will be accompanied by continued financial contributions to the humanitarian effort — not only from the U.S. government, but from the American people. The need is enormous, but we are determined to answer the call.”
Finally, as a reminder, The United States has taken in about 1,500 Syrian refugees since the conflict began more than four years ago, while Europe has been absorbing hundreds of thousands.
As we noted previously, [11]here is where the current 10s of thousands of refugees will be placed... These 180 resettlement center? They are shown on the map below: [12]
[13]
Perhaps this will wake Americans from their Snapchat and Caitlyn-inspired state of ignorance [9]at what the blowback from 'the endless wars' really is...
We Americans are in something approaching complete denial about how truly horrible our nation’s recent impact on the rest of the world has been. We are universally hated, even by those who have their hands out to receive their Danegeld, and the world is undoubtedly shaking its head as it listens to the bile coming out of the mouths of our presidential candidates. Shakespeare observed that the “evil that men do lives after them,” but he had no experience of the United States. We choose to dissimulate regarding the bad choices we make followed up with lies to justify and mitigate our crimes. And still later the evil we do disappears down the memory hole. Literally.
Mr. Obama has the authority to increase the refugee cap, but Congress will need to approve additional funding. State Department officials have said that it would cost $1.1 billion to accept and resettle 70,000 refugees in 2015.
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One cannot help but wonder whether US "allies" threw down some ultimata as the Washington-created refugee crisis swamps resources from Germany to Saudi Arabia...
[14]
