100,000’s of Iraqis Enthusiastically Return Home

Iraqis who fled their country because of the war are returning by the hundreds of thousands to Iraq from Syria, Egypt and Jordan because of the improved security. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is providing the free bus and flight travel:

Residents welcome their relatives who have just returned from Syria after arriving in Baghdad November 21, 2007. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ)

The return is dramatic. Baghdad has been transformed:

Iraqi refugees are returning home in dramatic numbers, concluding that security in Baghdad has been transformed. Thousands have left their refuge in Syria in recent months, according to some estimates.
The Iraqi Embassy is organising a secure mass convoy from Damascus to Baghdad on Monday for refugees who want to drive back. Embassy notices went up around the Syrian capital yesterday, offering free bus and train rides home.
Saida Zaynab, the Damascus neighbourhoods once dominated by many of the 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, is almost deserted. Apartment prices are plummeting and once-crowded shops and buses are half empty. Syria has absorbed the lion’s share of Iraqi refugees since the US-led invasion and subsequent insurgency, with the rest going to Jordan, Egypt and other countries around the region. They, too, report a growing number of returnees.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...SS&attr=797093

[swifty]

That is outstanding news. Hopefully the trend will continue.

[Sea Demon]

Yes. How quickly things change. Especially the Democrats tone in regards to the positive news coming from Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/us...fbz+FzZdW/3tsg

After years of minimizing our gains and successes, highlighting our challenges and losses, and false demoralizing statements coming from your run of the mill Democrat in Congress, looks like even they can no longer ignore the good news. I guess they'll just have to resort to moving the goalposts again. :hmm: A time honored tactic from them.

[The WosMan]

Just wait, when Billary is the nominee you will see a pro-war, pro-troop Democrat party in 2008.

[Iceman]

Wow no Skybird posts in this thread? I think Bush really just disguised illegal Mexican immigrants as Iraqis and sent them there as a ruse...

[Peto]

I just talked to my son this week. His Company (detached) is patrolling the Iraq/Iran Border. Bt wording my question right he was able to tell me that, "Things are pretty quiet." Well--if he's bored that's the best news he could give me !

I sure hope this indicates a sustainable trend and isn't just a lull (as the paranoid half of my mind tells me).

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Funny how they're all "thank you!" now :p

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Peto

I just talked to my son this week. His Company (detached) is patrolling the Iraq/Iran Border. Bt wording my question right he was able to tell me that, "Things are pretty quiet." Well--if he's bored that's the best news he could give me !

I sure hope this indicates a sustainable trend and isn't just a lull (as the paranoid half of my mind tells me).

The general sense seems to be that it's certainly quieter, but the same tensions/conflicts exist.

[Konovalov]

Definately positive news after the earlier stuffups, mistakes and missteps.

General David Howell Petraeus was the right man for the job.

If Paul Bremer and Donald Rumsfeld had been sacked a long time ago as they should have been then Petraeus wouldn't have had such a mountainous task and more importantly perhaps so many brave soldiers and Iraqi civilians wouldn't have had to die in the first place.

I for one feel that things in Iraq are close to turning the corner for the better. However the political side of the equation has made little progress by comparison. It's still wait and see in my view.

Originally Posted by Konovalov

Definately positive news after the earlier stuffups, mistakes and missteps.

General David Howell Petraeus was the right man for the job.

If Paul Bremer and Donald Rumsfeld had been sacked a long time ago as they should have been then Petraeus wouldn't have had such a mountainous task and more importantly perhaps so many brave soldiers and Iraqi civilians wouldn't have had to die in the first place.

I for one feel that things in Iraq are close to turning the corner for the better. However the political side of the equation has made little progress by comparison. It's still wait and see in my view.

Let us not forget the contribution, or lack there of, of the Iraqis themselves. After the end of military hostilities and the establishment of a freely elected government in Iraq, some of the burden must be placed on the Iraqis. Until recently, it would seem, that responsibility was not appreciated.

[Konovalov]

Originally Posted by waste gate

Let us not forget the contribution, or lack there of, of the Iraqis themselves. After the end of military hostilities and the establishment of a freely elected government in Iraq, some of the burden must be placed on the Iraqis. Until recently, it would seem, that responsibility was not appreciated.

Of course. They are not blameless. I mentioned the political side of the equation lacking serious progress. That is almost exclusively the domain of the Iraqis now.

[3Jane]

Isn't this a little like looking through the rubble of Dresden and saying 'hey look we found an unbroken plate' :rotfl:

Originally Posted by 3Jane

Isn't this a little like looking through the rubble of Dresden and saying 'hey look we found an unbroken plate' :rotfl:

I'm not too sure what you mean 3Jane. I think its more like take responsibility for your own sh*t. I know that is a hard concept for the politically left.

[Skybird]

To keep the enthusiasm a bit more realistic. Just a bit.

http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4747058d4.html

She added that "presently, there is no sign of any large-scale return to Iraq as the security situation in many parts of the country remains volatile and unpredictable. "
According to a survey conducted by UNHCR staff in Syria, there are many reasons for returns to Iraq other than considerations of improved security. Most of some 110 Iraqi families interviewed said they were returning because they were running out of money and/or resources, they faced difficult living conditions or because their visas have expired.
(...)
Although we are not in a position to monitor borders on a 24-hour basis, we have noted more returns to Iraq than arrivals in Syria – with a fluctuating average of 1,500 departures to Iraq and 500 arrivals in Syria per day. We cannot confirm reports that 46,000 Iraqis returned from Syria in October," Pagonis said.
(...)
Pagonis said reasons for the increase included better registration of the displaced, but also recent visa restrictions in Syria, which meant more people moved within Iraq rather than seeking refuge outside. There has also been more secondary displacement as governorates close their doors to the newly displaced from elsewhere – 11 out of Iraq's 18 governorates have limited access to new arrivals.
Inside Iraq, the number of internally displaced people increased slightly over the last few months. According to the latest figures received by UNHCR, it is estimated that as of Wednesday more than 2.4 million Iraqis were displaced inside Iraq. The breakdown is: 1,021,962 displaced prior to 2003; 190,146 displaced from 2003-2005; and 1,199,491 displaced since the first Samarra mosque bombing in February 2006.

Why does one source say hundreds of thousands are returning while another says no large scale return is happening? Why is one source positive about the future and one isn't?

Why would anyone trust the UN after their over estimation of AIDs virus to aquire more money. That is the paradigm of all UN reports. See global warming.