The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

less with no money or food. And the U.S. military feared more sectarian upheaval if returning Iraqis tried to reclaim homes since occupied by others. “It’s a problem that everybody can grasp,” a senior U.S. diplomat told the Post . “You move back to the house that you left and find that somebody else has moved into the house, maybe because they’ve been displaced from someplace else. And it’s even more difficult than that, because in many cases the local militias ... have seized control and threw out anybody in that neighborhood they didn’t like.” State says that it cannot gauge whether the refugee problem is getting better or worse. Though the number who’d fled by the end of 2007 isn’t that much larger than the estimates by the end of 2006, officials decline to say whether they believe there has been a slowdown in the exodus. With such a fluid situation — marked by both the return of some Iraqis and the departure of others — it’s hard to know whether more are coming or going, they say. At the same time, they point out, fleeing Iraqis are settling in cities and towns in Syria and Jordan and living with friends and family or on saved money. That’s far better for their health than living in large refugee camps, but it also makes it difficult to count them. It’s doubly difficult to count the number of refugees who have worked for State, other U.S. agencies or U.S. contractors. But the numbers are potentially huge. According to figures compiled by the refugee advocacy group Human Rights First, 65,000 Iraqis currently work for the Defense Department. Another 81,000 work for USAID on reconstruction projects and 40,000 more have worked for the construction contractor Bechtel. F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 31 State says that it cannot gauge whether the refugee problem is getting better or worse. * per night, single or double occupancy subject to availability Y our search is over, choose a hotel where the federal per diem rate is available year-round. * Luxurious Suites All rooms with full size kitchen & stove tops Fitness center Complimentary in-room coffee Full service restaurant Parking available Across fromMain State White House, The Mall, and Metro Foggy Bottom station (blue & orange lines) within walking distance Accommodations State Plaza Hotel 2117 E. St. NW Washington, DC 20037 Telephone: (800) 424-2859 (202) 861-8200 Parking Available Rated 1 / 2 by AAA www.stateplaza.com E-mail: reservationsagent@ RBpropertiesinc.com