U.S. to start processing some Iraqi refugees in Iraq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, under fire for the slow pace it has taken in Iraqi refugees, said on Thursday it hoped to soon handle refugee applications in Iraq for local employees of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Previously, Iraqis who worked at the U.S. embassy had to go abroad to have their applications processed, requiring them to make a journey that can be both expensive and dangerous.

An estimated 2.2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries following the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and eventually triggered a brutal insurgency.

After criticism from members of Congress, the U.S. State Department set a goal of taking in 12,000 Iraqi refugees in the current fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2008. It accepted 1,608 in fiscal 2007 and 202 in fiscal 2006.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, has pressed the administration to address the plight of Iraqi citizens who are threatened because of their work for the U.S. government.

Ambassador James Foley, who was named in September to speed up U.S. processing of Iraqi refugees, said the U.S. government had decided to begin handling requests from Baghdad embassy employees inside Iraq soon.

After a recent trip to Iraq, he said, "We came away confident that everything is in place to go forward with this process, which should commence in the next month or so."

While praising this, Kennedy said it was not enough.

"This is obviously a step in the right direction. But many other Iraqis have also risked their lives working with or for our government. We have a fundamental obligation to them as well, and they too should be able to apply for refugee status in Iraq," Kennedy said in a written statement.