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Iraq: 'No reason to celebrate'

Matthew Hay Brown, for the Pulitzer Center
Washington, DC

The United States has met its goal of resettling 12,000 Iraqi refugees for the fiscal year, with a thousand more due to arrive by the end of the month, officials announced this morning.

With the system for processing Iraqis now "robust," Ambassador James Foley told reporters, the United States expects to admit at least 17,000 more refugees in 2009.

"This is no reason to celebrate," said Foley, the State Department's point person on the crisis. "Celebration will come only when the suffering of all displaced Iraqis has come to an end. That is, when they can return to their homes in a safe and secure Iraq, a day we hope is nearing."

The 12,000th Iraqi refugee landed in the United States on Sept. 11, Foley said. The total was up to 12,118 by the end of the day, with more than 1,000 more booked to travel by the end of the month.

Critics say the country still isn't doing enough.

"The U.S. certainly met its goal for this year, but next year's target of resettling 17,000 Iraqi refugees falls far short of what is needed," said Kristele Younes, a senior advocate with Washington-based Refugees International.