Assylum for Iraq's Quislings

60 Minutes had a story this past Sunday on how America is not protecting Iraqis who have assisted them in the occupation. This was compared to the situation in 1975 Vietnam, in which over 100,000 Vietnamese collaborrators were resettled in the United States.

60 Minutes missed one key point: By 1975, the American government knew the war was lost and was making do. Today, the Bush Administration won't acknowledge that the war is lost. So one can criticize the administration for a lot of things, but they can't be criticized for this.

If America was pulling its troops out of Iraq, and abandoned Iraqi collaborators, then a comparison can be made to the Vietnam. But America is not pulling out and it needs the colloaborators they do have. And if they help former collaborators leave, then future collaborators may sign up with U.S. forces just to get a free ticket to the U.S. American policy is that the war can still be won and therefore the collaborators will be needed in Iraq and shouldn't leave. If America embarks on the kind of refugee program that 60 Minutes thinks it should, then America must pull out its troops. You can't do one without doing the other.