U.S. to allow more refugees

Gov. Ted Strickland doesn't want the refugees to come to Ohio.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States agreed Wednesday to greatly expand the number of Iraqi refugees allowed into America and to pay more to help Iraq's Arab neighbors cope with the human tide fleeing increasing violence and economic hardship in their country.
The decision to allow about 7,000 Iraqis to come to the United States answers mounting political and diplomatic pressure on the Bush administration to do more to remedy the consequences of a war it largely started. Only 202 Iraqis were allowed in last year.
But Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday had a message for President Bush: Any plan to relocate thousands of refugees uprooted by the Iraq war to the U.S. shouldn't include Ohio.
Strickland, a Democrat who opposed the war as a U.S. House member, said Ohioans cannot be expected to have open arms for Iraqis displaced by the war. More than 100 Ohioans have been killed since the war began.
"I think Ohio and Ohioans have contributed a lot to Iraq in terms of blood, sweat and too many tears," Strickland said. "I am sympathetic to the plight of the innocent Iraqi people who have fled that country. However, I would not want to ask Ohioans to accept a greater burden than they already have borne for the Bush administration's failed policies."
18M for relief fund
The Bush administration also said it will immediately contribute 18 million for a worldwide resettlement and relief program. The United Nations has asked for 60 million from nations around the world.
Although the United Nations estimates that 3.8 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the war began nearly four years ago, the United States has allowed only about 600 to settle in the United States.
The U.S. proposal also includes plans to offer special treatment for Iraqis still in their country whose cooperation with the U.S. puts them at risk. Expanding visa programs for those Iraqis would require legislation in Congress, State Department Undersecretary Paula J. Dobriansky said Wednesday.
Some 2 million Iraqis have left their country, and an additional 1.8 million are believed to have relocated inside Iraq. The refugee flow has increased sharply as sectarian violence has increased over the past year. The numbers have overwhelmed the hospitality of Arab neighbors such as Syria and Jordan.
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