Posted on 12/06/2007 9:33:58 AM PST by 3AngelaD
Numerous Iraqi military and law-enforcement officials brought to the U.S. as part of special intelligence and training programs have run away and are seeking asylum in this country or disappeared altogether...Intelligence officials...say nearly a dozen Iraqis fled military training facilities in the U.S., including a brigadier general who went to Canada with his family...Army officials confirmed that five Iraqi military personnel whom the Army had been training disappeared between 2005 and 2007. They did not know how many other Iraqis sponsored by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy may have done the same.
"Nothing that this command is aware of would suggest that any of those students who departed from their training or returned back to Iraq pose any threat to the United States," said Harvey Perritt, civilian spokesman for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command....
Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, says the national security implications are serious and the Bush administration must do more to ensure that those brought to the U.S. are properly accounted for.
"The trainees are given access to highly sensitive information intended to help in the stabilization of Iraq...."It is my understanding that officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) have received a significant number of asylum requests from Iraqi trainees brought here by the Department of Defense," Mr. Smith said...two Iraqi officers fled in the middle of their training from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the nation's largest intelligence training facility. One officer disappeared from Fort Benning, Ga...CIS officials said that they could not give detailed reasons as to who applied for asylum because it could pose a danger to the applicant.
Defense officials said the Iraqis' backgrounds are checked by the State Department before they are accepted into the program....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
And why don't I feel better knowing that it was the State Department who checked these people out?
Let me just say that, in the context of this type of story, “numerous” is the wrong adjective for “a dozen”.
Numerous simply implies a much larger problem than “12”.
I'm in Iraq.
I can understand the reasoning behind this.
I'm not condoning it, but I can understand.
Sounds like a minor problem.
A much bigger problem was caused when the first President Bush gave sanctuary to a number of Saddam’s Republican Guards. Some of them seem to have been involved in the OKC bombing and other terrorist activities during the clinton years.
Those were dangerous infiltrators. These appear to be cowards who want safe sanctuary away from Iraq. Which is not to say that they are a great addition to our country.
Have they checked Hooters yet?...
I could not have said it better. Not right but sure understandable. I just hope these guys don’t end up screwing over some good training programs.
They operate 7-11s in the Bay Area?
“Give me liberty, or give me death” is so old fashion.
In today’s America, it’s just. “Give me, give me, give me, give me, or I’ll sue you and you will still give me”
Check out Gas Stations and Convenience Stores.
"BEPA" [Best Early Post Award]
When you get death threat after death threat after death threat from stone-cold Badr Corps killers, it's natural impulse. In my case, our Iraqis had done 2-3 years of very tough service and made all the right enemies. Unfortunately, these enemies were insanely well-connected within GOI. These were not young men. And they all had kids, who were used against them as leverage. In my case, our Iraqis put their butts on the line for quite a while. Leaving Iraq was the only way for them to survive.
4:15 a.m. our time, there’s a football game on. ;-)
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