US ambassador says Iraqi aides will quit unless granted asylum

The United States ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker, has called for all Iraqis working for the US government to be granted refugee status in recognition of the dangers they face. Crocker warned in a cable obtained by the Washington Post that unless Iraqi employees were given hope of finding safe haven in the United States they would quit. He said that Iraqis in US government employment "work under extremely difficult conditions, and are targets for violence including murder and kidnapping. Unless they know that there is some hope of a [visa] in future, many will continue to seek asylum, leaving our mission lacking in one of our most valuable assets." The US government and its main partner in Iraq, Britain, have both been criticized by human rights and refugee organizations for failing to allow significant numbers of Iraqi asylum seekers into their countries. The US has admitted 825 Iraqis since the invasion in 2003. The British government granted asylum to about 100 Iraqis between 2003 and 2005, but figures since then are unknown. It has refused to consider applications from among the 2 million Iraqis who have fled to Jordan, Syria and other neighboring states. In the wake of heavy criticism, the Bush administration expanded its Iraqi refugee program, promising to admit 7,000 by October. However, it has processed just 133 since last October.