Let them stay

Iraqi dissident deportations send frightening message to the public

Last week the U.S. government made a grave mistake.

The decision to deport six Iraqi dissidents back to the Middle East was the equivalent of the United States signing their death warrants.

Eight Iraqi dissidents were detained by the United States after they were airlifted from northern Iraq with about 600 men, women and children. One of them, Hashrim Hawlery, has since been granted political asylum in the United States.

"The decision, rendered by the courts, shows a great hypocrisy in the United States foreign policy."

Six others have been declared national security risks and are to be sent back to Iraq where they fear, and for good reason -- they will be executed by their dictatorial government.

The decision, rendered by the courts, shows a great hypocrisy in the United States foreign policy.

Before and even after the United Nations agreement that has seemed to avert the threat of military action, the United States has very openly criticized the policies of the Iraqi government.

What makes this case so disturbing is that six Iraqis tried to overthrow the Iraqi government the United States has chastised, reproached and even feared, and their reward is a plane flight home to the same tyrannical land they were trying to flee.

Certainly the public is not seeing all the facts.

Maybe these six men really do pose a serious risk to the national security of our nation. But we will never know. We may never know why six of the eight men are being deported while one of their confidants has been granted asylum.

The rulings are based on meetings that were held behind closed doors, some even secret from defense attorneys because they focused on classified documents and FBI agents. Large portions of the official rulings have been sealed.

If these men do pose a risk to our security, let it be known what that risk is. Otherwise this decision appears to be discriminatory. From what is known, these people supported and agreed with the United States criticisms of Iraq. They risked their lives trying to overthrow their own government. And now they may pay the ultimate price for their actions.

It is hard not to think of past times the government has used discriminatory procedures during a time of conflict.

The internment camps of World War II come to mind. According to Encyclopedia Britannica's World Wide Web site, these camps were created when more than 100,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were taken into custody and placed in camps in the interior of the United States.

While this decision may not be on the same scale of those policies, it is disturbing to think that the United States is no longer a safe haven for those seeking the same unalienable rights that all people deserve.