US to let in 7,000 refugees from Iraq by next year

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Bush administration plans to allow about 7,000 Iraqi refugees to settle in the United States over the next year, a huge expansion of a program at a time when this country is facing international pressure to help some of the millions of refugees who have fled their battle-torn Mideast nation. The United States has allowed only 463 Iraq refugees into the country since the war began. A senior State Department official described the expanded program on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement later Wednesday. The administration also plans to pledge $18 million (€13.7 million) for a worldwide resettlement and relief program. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has asked for $60 million (€45.8 million) from nations around the world. Some 3.8 million Iraqis have fled their country since the war began in March 2003.