Iraq urged to spend more on refugees

2 in Congress say oil surplus can be a boon

Representative William Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat, is spearheading an effort in Congress to persuade Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki of Iraq to devote $1 billion of Iraq's estimated $25 billion budget surplus toward the care of Iraqi refugees displaced by the war.

The move is part of a growing effort in Congress to shift more war costs onto the Iraqi government, which has reaped a substantial surplus in revenues from the skyrocketing price of oil.

In hearings this week, Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, suggested that Iraq should contribute to the cost of maintaining US military installations in Iraq. Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, said he planned to introduce legislation that would make future nonmilitary aid to Iraq come in the form of loans rather than grants. And Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican who is a key defender of the war and the presumed Republican presidential nominee, called on Iraq to fund a program used by US military commanders to provide job creation and salaries to the Sunni tribesmen who are supporting the fight against extremists in Al Anbar province.

President Bush responded to those proposals yesterday, saying in a speech that he believes Iraq will soon move away from US assistance, taking on more of the cost of its own defense and reconstruction. "Ultimately, we expect Iraq to shoulder the full burden of these costs," Bush said.

But analysts say the Iraqi government has shown little interest in supporting the roughly 2.5 million Iraqis who have been internally displaced by violence and the 2 million more who fled Iraq to neighboring Syria and Jordan. Last year, Iraq allocated less than $35 million to help refugees and internally displaced people, despite the fact that they make up nearly one sixth of Iraq's population of 27 million, according to analysts familiar with the Iraqi budget.

"They are spending very little," said Joost Hiltermann, an analyst with International Crisis Group, a global research and advocacy group. Hiltermann said that Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated government did not have an interest in helping refugees, most of whom are either Sunnis who were driven out of Baghdad by Shi'ite militias, or Shi'ites who oppose the government. "They are very happy for the refugees to be away," Hiltermann said.

The US Congress, meanwhile, has been under increasing pressure to provide more aid to Iraqi refugees. This year, Congress has appropriated $200 million in emergency assistance to both Iraqi and Palestinian refugees. Under a separate program, the State Department is slated to allow 12,000 Iraqi refugees this year into the United States.

Yesterday, Delahunt, who chairs a House foreign affairs subcommittee that deals with the United Nations and refugees, and Representative Alcee L. Hastings, a Florida Democrat, released a letter calling on Maliki to allocate a greater amount of Iraq's own resources to help those displaced by the violence.

The letter pointed out that oil prices have risen from $57 per barrel in 2007 to over $100 today, giving the country a windfall that it must now decide how to spend.

The upsurge in oil prices has led to an estimated $60 billion in annual oil revenues - $25 billion more than Iraq's government budgeted in expenses this year.

"Your Government's revenues have seen a dramatic increase," Delahunt's letter to Maliki states. "We respectfully request that $1 billion, a mere 4 percent, be dedicated to help Iraqi [internally displaced people] and refugees" through international organizations such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

It is unclear what impact the letter will have on Iraq's government, which rarely receives such requests from members of Congress. So far, two additional Democrats and four Republicans have backed the letter.