Today, marking the fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, IRAP launched a campaign calling on the Administration to protect our Iraqi wartime allies who remain in limbo in Iraq:
As a result of their service in support of the U.S. mission, thousands of our trusted Iraqi partners have been threatened, abducted, tortured, and even killed. Unfortunately, the two legal pathways created to provide meaningful protection to these allies, the Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program and Direct Access Program (DAP), are no longer meaningful avenues to safety, stranding these allies who risked their lives for our troops.
In response to this pressing humanitarian and national security issue, IRAP has released the report Fifteen Years On: Protecting Iraqi Wartime Partners, which outlines a set of recommendations to address the current situation and ways to improve the SIV and DAP programs.
Read also an op-ed by our Board Chair, Walt Cooper, in The Hill: “As a veteran, this issue is personal to me. During my two tours in Iraq, I relied on the regional expertise and linguistic assistance of these partners every day. These Iraqis are not only our loyal allies but also our trusted friends who sacrificed their lives to help our troops fulfill our mission. Reneging on our promise to safeguard our wartime allies abandons our integrity and puts the wellbeing of our own soldiers at risk — not only in today’s conflicts but in any future ones, as well.”
While we urge Congress and the Administration to take action, IRAP asks you to join in our advocacy efforts and continue spreading the word to #SaveOurAllies!
Here are some ways you can help:
- SHARE our video on social media
- CALL your representatives
- URGE President Trump (@POTUS) to #SaveOurAllies
Sample posts
On the fifteenth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, thousands of our Iraqi allies are still in danger! Join me and ask @POTUS to #SaveOurAllies!
The Iraqi DAP program has been a lifeline to our wartime partners who risked their lives to help US troops. There are currently thousands of applications stuck in the backlog. We must act now to #SaveOurAllies!
Thousands of our Iraqi wartime partners are still in danger. Drastic cuts to refugee resettlement have left our trusted allies stuck in limbo. Join me and ask @POTUS to #SaveOurAllies!
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