7,000 Iraqi refugees allowed to enter U.S.

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The United States agreed yesterday to allow up to 7,000 Iraqi refugees to enter the country, greatly expanding the number allowed until now. It also agreed 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 for this fiscal year came after 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.

The 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, Washington 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 yesterday.

Some 2 million Iraqis have left their country, and an additional 1.8 million are thought 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.

The United Nations says most of those who have been uprooted have no desire to come to the United States, and want to return to their homes in Iraq when fighting stops.

But allies, U.N. diplomats and lawmakers of both parties have recently told the administration that the small number of Iraqis the U.S. has allowed in looks bad.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican, told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a hearing last week that the United States could bring in 7,000 Iraqis this year -- exactly the number announced yesterday.

The move is a step in the right direction, considering the United States is a "chief cause" of the refugee problem, said Carolyn Saour, an Iraqi-American Christian living in Houston. Still, 7,000 "is severely low for the amount of damage that's been done over the years," she said.