this is sickening

and despicable. it's outrageous. it's disheartening. it's these things and so much more. we have now become those who we have fought off all along

Asylum Program Falls Short For Iraqis Aiding U.S. Forces

By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer
Thousands of Iraqi translators have assisted U.S. forces since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, risking their lives and leaving their families vulnerable to retaliation from insurgents who see them as accomplices of American troops.
More than 250 of the interpreters working with the United States -- or with U.S. contractors -- have been killed. But the U.S. asylum program for translators seeking to leave the country has fallen far short of demand and, at times, short of what other coalition countries have offered their Iraqi staff.
This month, Denmark will complete the process of granting asylum to 120 Iraqi interpreters who worked for Danish troops in Iraq, as well as their families. "Interpreters who had been working for the Danish military were given the choice of resettling within [Iraq] with financial help, of being given jobs at Danish mission in the region, or of going to Denmark to apply for asylum with their families," said Thomas Bille Winkel, representative of the Danish Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs. Most chose to go to Denmark, he said. ..........